At the Dump

One day the children played

     in the kitchen.
     in the cellar.
     in the yard.


The yard looked like

     a meadow.
     a forest.
     an island in the sea.


The children forgot their

     mud cakes,
     swing set,
     sticks,


when a girl taught them

     cat’s cradles.
     clay people.
     folded paper boats.


Late afternoon, whispering, they lay

     in a sandbox.
     on the sidewalk.
     in the grass.


Each knew the others had

.    a mother.
     a father.
     brothers, sisters, dogs.


They traded blood oaths that foretold

     how close.
     how long.
     at what cost.


I Found a 1050s "Answer and Color-In Book", by Jennifer Barber