It is overcast, this late May day,
the threat of rain looms, but
every so often, the sun pushes
the grey curtain aside
to look down upon us.

The playground is teeming with innocence;
pig-tails, scraped knees, crooked teeth and
eyes like bright balloons,
running frenzied,
kicking sand and
making noise.

Thirty feet away, there are dogs
licking the moisture from the grass,
chasing sticks and wagging tails,
catching frisbees and some
are just looking for a warm spot
to lie down.

I am sitting on the steps near the monkey-bars,
chain-smoking with my sister's Lhasa Apso
on my lap. Kids run by,
and stop to stroke her, ask me questions about her,
and it occurs to me,
how easy it is to take a child.

My eyes scan the park for my niece
as my mind turns to Holly,
the little girl found last week
in two separate duffle bags -
five years in one, the other five in another.

She was from this neighbourhood,
probably played at this park on sunny days,
and even on grey days and,
maybe she even stroked the fur
of a dog sitting on a stranger's lap.

It is a busy community, people everywhere
busy with roller-blades, bicycles and soccer balls.
It is so busy around here that nobody
heard Holly cry. Nobody saw her
when she was taken.

Nobody saw a little girl with
two puddles for eyes,
holding the hand of a stranger.
Now, the police want voluntary DNA samples
from people who live in the neighbourhood.
Taxpayers.

Working people, whose wages support the community
where convicted pedophiles are sent to live among them
and their children. People who give up their earnings
in order to live in a society where children are protected,
and those who harm children are punished.
Punished?

Call the American President a moron, and you will be punished.
Rape a little girl and get a university degree
and a place to live. Now,
the city has one less little girl,
to stare doe-eyed at a solitary leaf
floating on the surface of the Humber river.

This winter, there will be one less
red toboggan descending the hills
of High Park and,
today, one little girl has
one less friend to walk her home
from school.

Jay, a powerful poem with a very important message. How society handles its criminals will be the determining theme of America in the 21st century.

Les

many things i like in this poem; especially the closing stanza. you're writing is less abstract in this poem.

Jay,

This is a great foundation. I think that it could use a revision when you're back to your writing self (i.e. writer's block is blown away by a dynamic idea). I mean no offense by my comment, either.

Like I said, a great foundation. Your imagery could be slightly stronger -- well... no. I was thinking that the first part (until you start telling the story of Holly) had a bit of weak imagery, but then I started thinking about what it was you were describing. Dreary, grey, gloomy days aren't strong days. Thunderstorms are strong. Sunny days are strong. Tornados are strong. Spring weather is strong. Grey and gloomy is weak. Strong imagery wouldn't suit it. I thought it was interesting that you pointed out the dogs licking the moisture from the grass. I've never seen one do it Provided a nice image.

Is a Lhasa Apso a dog?

I've got to go clean my room. I'll write later.

Lady of the Night

I like the way you keep it low key until that that horrifying disclosure about the duffle bags. I wasn't expecting it. Sick people.

JP

Megan, you really like the word "foundation" don't you?

Jay

Jay M your writing abilities are astonishing and in your face! i love it!
you speak the truth!

bump

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. (Aristotle)

Actually, I hate the word, lol. Maybe not hate... but I really don't like it. It's boring and old and ugly.

Is that all you have to say? After all that time I put into my critique? Tsk tsk tsk. I expected more from you...

Lady of the Night

Jay--------this made my heart feel heavy..........you described how incredibly sick some individuals are and how frustrating it is sometimes to deal with the "system" in place to deal with criminal acts............I liked the way you led into the sadness........Ell

Jay, it's amazing, but terribly sad. You have a wonderful ability to convey through your poetry, emotions that the reader feels. This poem is depressing, but beautiful. Good work!

morphine

To be loved is to be fortunate, but to be hated is to achieve distinction

bump

I have always believed that a child molester should be taken into a sanitary room, all donatable organs removed and the rest baled for dogfood. I had a roommate in college who would always joke,"She may have only been five, but she had the body of a six year old" We would all grin and get another beer. One day the cops broke down the door and hauled him off. He got 12 years, but he only lived about two weeks in the joint. Justice was done. Evil does walk amongst us. Oh,, I liked the poem the way it is. Tough subject to make a poem about. Flowers and swimming birds are easier... so is rodeo and cattle drives. Later