Oh parched park!

A warm breeze rustles yellow leaves
Making them fall
Onto the parched earth of the park
Where withered grass like straw
Stare mutely up at the harsh blue
Of the sky without a single cloud
In sight.
Stray dogs go in search of water
To a dried up stream which once
Flowed with vigour.
Bats hang upside down on naked
Branches stripped of their former glory
Waiting for the darkness of the night
To release them from their torment.
Young lovers have abandoned benches
Too heated just for holding hands
Likewise the beggars who had
Stretched out withered limbs for rest.
Children no longer throw balls
At each other in the heat.
Senior citizens of the city
Wait for the sun to go down
To exercise limbs
Cramped during the day.
Slowly, very slowly shadows lengthen
Under the setting of a reluctant sun
Only the Buddha sits serene
To the last, His painted body shimmering gold
Unmoved by nature
Eyes closed in blissful meditation
In a world away from this suffering world.

By Punyakante Wijenaike