Afternoon stroll

Anxious to avoid the crowds,we strike out
against the flow
of waterproofed children
and umbrellaed parents

up the road
through the dripping trees
and on to the rain-wet
gorse-wet, scented path
around the cliff

into the woods
which are indeed
lovely, dark and deep,
(but I - still -
have promises to keep)

And in the woods I come across
a dozen or so young people,
hemelted, tabarded and weaponed,
playing Lord of the Rings
in the tree-wet green -

Utterly bemused,
the dog reminds them
whose woods these are..
the clash of arms is lost
as we retreat
back around the cliff
with the bird-song sky
to the noise
and bustle of the real world