Soothing Traffic
By Gareth Jenkins
Published 26 October 2023
Contained emotion
in the play area
where kids come to see mums;
so many goodbyes.
We played hopscotch
skipping stones.
Listened to her songs
with poetic ears.
No poems were written
down
One by one the girls left
to record their voices
in a small room
on the dat.
They came back smiling
after something difficult
but done, over
and out into her singing:
voice soothing traffic
coming in
from the out side.