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Took the kid for a walk, a five-year old bundle of energy,

Everyday wondering where the time’s gone, she’s growing up fast already,

Working from home most days to bond with her, these formative years are precious,

More so than wads of cash and priceless diamonds, better enjoy her now before suitors come ‘round knockin’,

Took her to the park before a text message from the missus changed y’alls itinerary,

“Can you run down to the shops?” you complied and replied with a “yes, sure, Honey.”

Hopped in the car and drove down to the nearest shopping center, detoured to the nearest newsagency to take a gander,

Just for five minutes, tops, before carrying out the mission,

The little one set off running, beelined to where they stacked colored puzzle books and comics,

You hung back and checked out mags featuring cars and sports and what’s printed on today’s papers,

Peeped over towards her, gotta keep her within your field of vision,

Ruffled her hair as you passed her, allowed her to continue perusing,

While you slinked over the other side, the shelf that featured subjects that were forbidden,

That’s secret men’s business, the type that featured titles with near-naked chicks on the cover,

Tried to keep it discreet but your moment of perving’s ‘bout to be shattered,

The little one wonders over wide-eyed as to what you’ve been ogling,

“Daddy why are you looking at dirty magazines!?” she screeched,

Good lucky tryin’a convince her that a man’s got needs,

Folks within earshot are eyeing you like you tripped the lunk alarm at Planet Fitness,

Some are snickering while you’re blushing, no smooth path to get away from all this,

There’s a time for everything, Bruh, that’s what Ecclesiastes and the Byrds were on about,

Can’t do that shit while kids are present, congrats you done got caught out,

You walk out of there with her to the sound of muffled laughter, you should have known better,

Bowin’ to temptation’s a sign of weakness, fool, ya played yourself!

This is it, time for a change of pace and scenery,

More than an hour was spent indoors glued in front of the TV,

Time to get the bodies poppin’, get the vitamin D fix in while the sun is still shinin’,

‘How ‘bout a game, y’all?’ Get the competitive juices flowin’,

Found a ball in the living room, a game of volleyball was unanimously voted,

Was tame at first but slid into anarchy quicker than one can scream ‘Brexit’,

Five participants, game played two-on-two and first to five goals,

The fifth served as the referee, waiting patiently til it was time to change roles,

You’re the oldest of the bunch, entered the arena with your so-called rep on the line,

“Can’t let ‘em beat me,” says you, “I’m the best and fairest this game is all mine,”

You went in hard and ready, eyes blazed like a predator,

Throwin’ your weight around, beating your chest like a silverback gorilla,

Point after point scored but it was all in good fun,

Intensity cranked to the max but ain’t no beef started between anyone,

All had their time in the sun but you were determined to snag MVP,

Gotta serve these young cats notice that alpha status ain’t for free,

Ball’s served by the opposition, time to blow this ball to Kingdom Come,

Swatted it hard, sent it over the fence in your quest to be the special one,

So much for mad flexin’, now the game’s suddenly halted,

Ball’s lost and you’re the clown that belted it, now it’s your job to go retrieve it,

Pulled Pops away from conversation with Unc like you wanna drag him to the Principal’s office,

Can’t go out in public unless a responsible adult’s around for supervisin’,

Ran towards that ball, it’s on the grass just past the pavement,

Bent over to pick it up while your cousins are shouting at you to return it,

Youthful exuberance overcame common sense, combined with ego it can lead to silly consequences,

Fuck throwing it back the right way, gotta hot dog it like a circus performer,

Tried to throw between the legs like Nick Kyrgios returning serve,

Missed the target, slotted it into the neighbor’s yard with no one home to return it,

Now you’re blushing, cursing your idiocy, your cousins rightfully berating you furiously,

Pops shaking his head wondering how his kid’s capable of such lunacy,

Standing there like a fool pantsed in the school ground in front of everyone,

The top dog is gone and in its place stands the king of the chumps,

It was fun while it lasted, because of you it’s prematurely ended,

Scurry back into your hole, fool, cuz  ya done played yourself.

All things must pass, come to an end, everything’s temporary,

Common clichés that we hear on the daily, ease of acceptance also varies,

Youth and athleticism fade eventually, so can looks, money and status,

Change is constant and immune to resistance, some sit back and accept it while others fight hard to delay it,

Relationships are no different, not all remain rock solid,

Some friendships are permanent while others last only for a moment,

Not all couples make it to the altar while others learn that vows won’t always last forever,

Maybe the decision’s mutual, an expiry date’s slapped on some unions, it’s unfortunate but neither party’s left irreversibly wounded,

Then there are couples shattered cuz one half committed the ultimate betrayal,

It need not be a death sentence if the guilty repents and reinvents, both sides pick up the pieces and become whole again,

But more often than not it can’t be salvaged, call it dead on arrival,

It’s flat lines on the life support system, 9-1-1 ain’t resuscitatin’ nothin’,

The Scorned reacts in one of two ways, both on extreme ends of the scale,

Maintain the stoicism of a trooper or embrace the path of the hurt and enraged,

The former quietly turns the page, busy working on starting over to give in to the rage,

The latter trashes their ex at every opportunity, often through methods nothing short of cringy,

Warning the masses of that jerk’s true colors, metaphorically tarring and feathering ‘em,

Putting up signs around town and debasing their cars and prized possessions,

If all goes well that coward’s crimes will go viral online, sending them duckin’ and dodgin’ but with nowhere to hide,

No one loves a cheater, therefore the masses must sympathize with the former lover,

Revenge served cold and the audience will cheer and applaud you for it,

But going overboard will leave some disturbed by your actions,

Since when do responsible adults resort to childish tantrums?

We get that you’re mad but was airing your dirty laundry part of the game?

No one asked to hear the dirty details, have you any ounce of shame?

We get that they pushed you head-first, fully-clothed, into a pool of indignity,

You could have climbed out and stayed out, instead you done cannonballed back in there willingly,

You eschew a dignified response in favor of bitter, obsessive behavior,

Now you’re bleeding supporters, but rest easy, they ain’t siding with that cheater,

But some may wonder if your shortcomings drove ‘em into the arms of another,

And they’ll surely be concerned ‘bout your kids, this can’t do ‘em any good,

You’re setting ‘em up for ridicule from their peers ‘round the hood,

Gotta be tough coming to terms with parents living separate lives,

Yet you compound their trauma as you vent to them constantly like a bitter ex-husband or wife,

Juicy gossip spreads faster than wildfire, ‘cuz of you other kids’ll be pointing and whispering,

Wondering aloud why their Mom or Pops were hoein’, it’s a recipe for humiliation,

‘Twas you who done bleated out loud ‘bout how your other half thirsted then flirted,

Simped over then snogged another before fucking ‘em behind your back many times over,

Fuck any good that they’ve done previously to you and the children, strike that shit off the record,

They deserve to burn for eternity, tortured in the Ninth Circle by The Devil and his minions,

But it’s your fault alone if your actions render your kids misguided and damaged,

An environment of toxicity and anger will lead to severe consequences,

Bitterness towards both parents, trauma manifested in an inability to love another,

Passing on the curse of family dysfunction, compounded by severe anxiety and depression,

Infidelity hurts and wrecks lives, it’s the actions of selfish cowards lacking the balls to break-up,

Your anger’s understandable but force-feeding others your feelings is hella fucked-up,

Move on with your life quietly and with dignity, work hard and let your successes do the talking,

Make that fool regret their actions, you’ll come out a winner while proving yourself a true role model.

Saturday at mid-day, on the western line inside a packed train,

Typical cast of characters filled the seats, couples young and old, Mommies and Daddies with energetic kiddies,

Young adults and teens, the jaded and upbeat, some occupied with social media and selfies, others readin, buried under Marxist theory,

In the midst are a group of women, on the cusp of middle age but they ain’t trippin’,

Bits of their anatomy not quite what they used to be yet their personalities remain kinda bubbly,

Laughing and carrying on, at times competing with children for excessive noise,

The others trying to stay poised, got no other choice,

Back to that group of gossipers, in a past life must’ve been high school cheerleaders,

Dressed to impress, complete with bags and bling, veterans of conspicuous spending, somewhere out there Thorstein Veblen’s spinning,

Their laughter and chatter a stark contrast to a woman seated across from ‘em,

Aged in her late 50s and maintaining a quiet dignity, got her eyes closed and meditating though the noise around her is deafening,

The leader of the loudmouths spies her, sizes her up like a lioness eyes its prey,

Turns back to her girlfriends, the cheer squad captain within came out to play,

‘Take a look at her,’ she sneers, ‘don’t you think she’s kinda ugly?’

From there one snide remark after another nothing short of cringy, talking smack about someone while they’re sleeping, it’s childish and petty,

They’re from different backgrounds, too, the bullies and the bullied, the former hiding behind probable language barriers, talk about cowardly,

It’s like Mean Girls in this joint for those within earshot,

Suddenly the quiet one’s roused by a phone call and here’s where things get hot,

“Hello?” she addresses her caller, “I’m still on the train,”

“Apologies for the noise, the crowd here’s insane,”

Turned her eyes toward the loud bunch, stared holes through them all, perfect set-up for the almighty coup de grâce,

“I’m just sitting here,” said she, “apparently looking rather ugly,”

Four words with a catastrophic effect, those noisy broads silenced in an instant,

Their faces beet-red and blushin’, penetrated their heavy make-up,

Y’all thought she was sleepin’, y’all should’ve known better,

So much for your flashy threads and expensive jewellery, no one gave a fuck it was a waste of money,

One ignorant move was all it took and now they’re staring and y’all are shook,

Those within earshot wide-eyed in astonishment, shit was cold but well-deserved,

Enjoy the ride, still a long way before your respective destinations, ‘til then people are gonna pass schadenfreude and joy at your misfortune,

Should’ve kept the beast in its cage, now y’all got eggs in the face, it was never gonna end well, y’all done played yourselves.

The sun beats down over the park, another glorious day at hand,

The cool breeze in the air compellin’ the tall trees to a gentle dance,

Birds soar through the sky, looking down at the strange earthbound juveniles,

The offspring of those strange humans running and frolicking,

Keeping the adults entertained and laughing but sometimes testing their patience,

Among the young families, weekend warriors and retired couples a lone figure’s emerged from his rabbit hole,

Attracted by the picturesque outdoors, a welcome change from the hermit life indoors,

Left the apartment, dressed in plain shirt and slacks, sunglasses on and hair slicked back,

Thirty minutes to be spent wandering, maybe forty max before returning,

Nature sure is invigorating, enhanced by the healing touch of sun,

‘Perfect day for a walk’, thought he as he filled his parched lungs,

Made his way to the park where the party seemed to take place,

Fortunate that it’s still mid-morning, surely by afternoon there’ll be very little space,

Circled the vast patch of greenery within the concrete jungle of the city,

Three full laps should suffice, consider this a dose of weekend exercise,

Passed the obstacle course where the young performed like monkeys in the circus,

Hanging, swinging and jumping, occasionally got their parents panicking,

Joggers comin’ from all directions, made like Roadrunner with no signs of slowin’

‘Mirin’ the flowers and trees, their movement’s mesmerizin’ dictated by the wind’s constant blowin’,

Meditated over the fountain at the center, on which stood several sculptures posin’ for photographers,

Buskers doing their thing nearby as kids prowl the fountain wanting to touch the muscled marble warriors posing with drawn weapons,

Our walker trudges towards a glade of trees lined with benches, found one that’s vacant,

Sat down and started meditating, happily on his lonesome among fellow weekenders,

Unaware his momentum was about to be rocked, rolled, shaken then flipped over,

She came from out of nowhere, sat on the same bench, away from him, mind you, way out the opposite end,

Blocked off the world through plugged ears, head bouncing gently to a tune that only she can hear,

Wearing a pink long-sleeve despite the warmth of the sun, shiny raven hair tied into a bun,

Fringe held back by a clip, away from her eyes, lips a bright red and her skin a pearl-white,

Several vacant spots nearby, why sit in one already taken?

Paid her no mind at first, he went out for relaxation and not socializin’,

Let her and the rest carry on while he minds his own business,

His powers of resistance were soon challenged and her scent was the catalyst,

Sweet and fruity yet hardly nauseating, slowly he turns and observes her movements,

Playin’ with her phone she seemed oblivious, occasionally looked ‘round all directions,

Relieving the stiffness in her neck and back, waiting for a friend, perhaps?

Her head bobbing to the beats within her plugs, her upper body dancing too,

The hair bun shook slightly as she hummed, gotta admit it’s kinda cute,

Couldn’t deny these feelings, she’s the flame and he the proverbial moth,

After years of flying solo he might have found a potential co-pilot,

Tried to gather his train of thought, time to get back on course,

‘You’re on the brink of derailment,’ muttered he, ‘full steam ahead and floor it!’

Had no intention of fishing but one can’t predict the ocean’s patterns,

Maybe her presence is a sign, it’s now or never, he’d be foolish not to seize this moment,

‘What’cha gotta lose?’ asked his inner voice, ‘man up and talk to her,’

Sounded like a double, the fear of rejection’s a heavy one to bear,

He eyes her once more, just as she looked towards his direction,

Their eyes cross and paralysis hits him, she smiles back in response before playing with her phone again,

Could this be an opening? Suddenly confidence is sky-high, gone are the ever-swirling presence of butterflies,

Gotta shoot his shot or forever wonder what might have been, put it all on the line and go all-in,

Three deep breaths and a silent prayer, summoned all the courage he could muster,

Silenced the nerves by focusing on a potentially brighter future,

But alas, she looked to her left and waved joyfully, jumped to her feet excitedly, ran towards a handsome gentleman and threw her arms around him passionately,

“You’re finally here,” she cried, “Hope you didn’t wait too long,” he replied,

“Not at all,” said she, “well then let’s go,” said he,

Off they went, the gentleman and his lady,

Our guy stands up and heads back, slowly,

Enough of the outdoors, gonna head back inside,

She was someone else’s catch, better luck next time.