sad saturday in manuel's cafe  -  Ed McGeough

lines for friends who have moved to a new squat in Hampton

we take what we have learned
from the scent of burning leaves
in empty gardens
and find ourselves together in a new space
full of autumn uncertainties and a hint of rain -
turning from each other
hardly daring to resume the old wars
or caring enough to face the strange world
behind our eyes,
we wander in this old garden
and discuss how to apply the little knowledge we have gathered,
and somehow improve it all with love -
we rake and burn the leaves -
the children, impatient and hungry, tug at our sleeves.

- Ed McGeough (July 1976, revised 1998)