THE PATHWAY

The south east corner of the high garden wall

has been extended slightly to form a curved,

slate-roofed, white-washed brick bower

with a wooden seat inset into the bricks.

The bower can be approached from two directions:

along a narrow, gravel path between

the eastern wall and a well tended copse

of hazel and sycamore, where wild garlic

is abundant in the spring; or edging

through the scant, unkempt, mossy space along

the southern wall – past a row of holly trees,

the back of a large thatched playhouse,

and the south side of the copse. From the bower,

on this last day of summer, the air

murmurs with bees, and sunlight lingers

among the leaves. The edge of the copse,

the high stippled wall, and the untrodden

pathway beckon, beckon.