April 1992

Its a funny thing about towns
Manicured lawns, tasteful homes
Family Life — the whole picture
Seems, well, Perfect;

Funny thing about perfect pictures,
Breugel knew, and left in
The things others covered,
with shrubs, or such;

From a distance, you’d never see
The ones in the corners —
On public days;
They set examples, moralize…

On Manners, Style and, of course, The Arts;
Especially the Gentle.
Kindness, Compassion, Mothering, and…don’t forget – Friendship.

Fascinating, to be sure.
Understanding from whence the motivation,
That’s the delectable part.
Tattlers, Fit-throwers, Goody two-shoes, Bullies..

Can you tell?
Looking closely, its clear.
They haven’t REALLY changed –
Aging doesn’t count;

Like Peter, they didn’t want to;
They couldn’t help growing OLDER,
But, closing their eyes,
Repeat, trance-like, “Never-Never”.

The Land of their Dreams.
And their mornings rise –
Golden; Picture-Perfect;
Filled with shrubbery.