Careful As You Go

by JANE DOWNING

my pathway is a gallery
trod with care
over maple stained cement
mimicking my grandmother’s
wallpaper

one leaf crimson alive

around butterflies desiccating
in the gravel
a wing lifting on the breeze
imitating life in the vault of sky
perfect

in caramel and brown

to one side a fairy ring
of toadstools stand
studded with vanilla candy –
poppers edible except for dire
warning

in its scarlet cap

and finally on the long last
homeward stretch
a pirate treasure trove shines
pocket silver spilled outside
the pub

Albury, NSW