What’s a graze?

What’s a graze?

I was so unaware when I played over there,
of the dangers that lay in that place,
Yet I did not despair or try to repair
that wonderful smile on my face,

When I stayed in the park and from morning till dark,
I enjoyed what this place did pursue,
To give pleasure to me and to my memory,
to remind me of what we used to do.

For the swings were so high you kissed daylight goodbye
when you soared to the heavens on these,
With a hard concrete floor as a welcome and more
as you jumped off and fell to your knees,

‘What’s a graze?’, tell your mum, you were all having fun,
a dock leaf will take care of this,
There is paradise here for a lad with no fear,
pure enjoyment and nothing remiss.

There’s a fast roundabout and we quickly found out
how rapid it was when it span,
As we hung on for grim death and we gasped hard for breath
when we pushed and the faster it ran,

If you flew off you see and obeyed gravity
it was nothing to cry for, at all,
For the speed and the style built the bigger the smile
and the laughter erased the great fall.

Monkey puzzle was there and we climbed in the air,
all aloft at great height on that frame,
With a hard concrete base to secure it in place,
if you slipped it would bruise your domain,

Such great shapes did we form be it sunshine or storm
as we gamboled and squirmed through the bar,
For the memories call and old age will forestall,
at these reminders of how we all are.

For these times that we had we did not see the bad,
for no danger was there to be seen,
For the swings and the slide and the games and our pride
made the gift of remembrance a dream,

Now long after it’s gone still the thought lingers on
to remain in my heart and will stay,
Of that time in the park there from morning till dark,
and the laughter that won’t go away.

Mick