Spring

Olive Riley, Hesketh Bank

A new beginning.
Everything opens,
Museums, castles.
Tea-rooms shake their cloths,
bedeck their tables,
display their menus
and their ‘Open’ signs.

Resorts come alive,
prepare for tourists.
Gaudy stalls appear
with ‘Kiss Me Quick’ hats,
stickers, candy floss,
rock with the name through.

Landladies freshen
their boarding houses
placing notices
in their front windows,
they have ‘Vacancies’.
Pleasureland wakens,
all rides must be checked,
sprayed with bright colours
to excite the young,
catch them in its net.

Giants now can walk,
towering above
model villages
with diminutive
houses, schools and shops.

Crazy golf takes off
played by all ages.
Patio tables
settle on forecourts
mimicking Paris.

Freshly painted boats
glide over the lake,
beckoning to those
who stand at the rail
watching and waiting,
dreaming , wondering
‘What will this Spring
Realise for them?’