The day, already splendid,
increased its level of benevolence
with the braided glow
of rippled sun reflections
patterned by gulls and geese
in intersecting circles
and in looping Vs

And with a toddler’s foreign language,
the newness of his speech
the only thing that I could understand

And with the ease of afternoon
that spilled into the evening —
mid-October
and still not cold.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 16, 2014