the child turned three is drawing amoebas
the older kids make themselves comic strips
a young man starts tats like Justin Bieber’s -
on the towpath cycle lights can’t dip
as they process through the patient twilight
each projecting a blob of clarity
so the hidden rider gets a sight
of woods arranged in stark parity
except for the impervious river
where the goose-feeder stands on the bank
under lights - a scrupulous giver
the kids forget their drawings - the slim ranks
of cyclists disappear - youth runs on past-
the goose-friend hoping her bag of scraps lasts
Oxford
15 February 2018