The Footbridge - Kathy

 playing with poetry and repetition...

The Footbridge

By: Kathy Heim

Every time we pass the footbridge

By the pond where ducks and turtles 

Sun on cement drains, 

Molly lunges at the leash, pulling

Towards the sculpture of The Stages of Life.

Every time we pass the footbridge,

When the air is warm, but the grass is wet,

And a mid morning sun casts shadows,

She checks for muddy water, stagnant and waiting

For her to plunge in, her squatty body Wiggling

Stooping chest high.  She hides behind the 

Silky overgrown grass, stays for a satisfying soak.

Every time we pass the footbridge

Where the only sounds are occasional commuter trains, 

Chirping birds, or quacks of a duck, Molly laps at 

Unfiltered water under The Stages of Life.  

Every time we pass the footbridge, 

Molly hops out, a shaking muddy mess,

Prancing, she returns to the path towards home.  

Clicking with each footstep, sniffing each chance,

Enjoying the sun on her back.

Every time we pass that footbridge, 

I wonder, will she grow 

Out of this stage of life?