ST STEPHEN'S GREEN

St Stephen's Green

A place of solitude
And simplicity
Where some take the first steps
To their dreams
While others
Tread the daily path from reality
At a preordained time
Or in response to
Their physical cravings
Where men hide their poverty
Behind fading suits and once smart shoes
And young mothers talk excitedly to an invisible friend
Without a hint of embarrassment


St Stephen's Green
A garden of languages
And loneliness
Where courtship rituals
Among the feathered visitors
Are mirrored
Along the fountain edges and garden seats
And love's desire is undermined by
The more pressing need
For an opportunist lunch
Where an overweight boy
Sits uncomfortably with his thoughts
And a thousand faces listen
To their own private world


St Stephen's Green
A fountain of youth
And agelessness
Where a million footsteps
Begin and end
Passing, unnoticed
In the busyness of hoping for
A moment's relaxation in paradise
Yet watching the lives of others appear
And disappear in a moment of time
Is a reminder of our greater journey
Where Paradise is the ultimate garden
Not just a temporary residence
Like St Stephen's Green