by Carole Z Croll
That’s what Maverick called it
in Top Gun before he set out
on a perilous mission.
As it turned out, it wasn’t
a walk and there was not
a park. It was more about
bombs, side-winding
missiles, planes and pilots
falling from the sky.
As I think about it now,
I am certain everyone
would call this otherwise
as well, especially those
who recently parachuted
to safety, and city dwellers
who comb through rubble,
and those in neighboring
countries who wonder
if they are next, or the ones
stranded in airports wanting
desperately to go home,
or persons manning ships—
sitting ducks. War is
never a walk in the park
so I encourage you
to take one. Do it today,
tomorrow, and the next,
because the earth
beneath you is undisturbed
and the ground prepares
to sprout, trees are tall
and steady as they reach
toward unthreatening skies,
birds and creatures
are out and about being birds
and creatures,
and children can still play
on playgrounds.
Carole Z Croll has returned to her native Pennsylvania after an extended residence in the Chicago area. She is a former massage therapist as well as a teacher of English Language Learners. Her first collection of poetry The Gift Forthcoming was published in 2000. Her work has appeared in The Prairie Light Review and publications of The Brookfield Zoo and the Winfield Post in Illinois, as well as those of Studio B in Boyertown. Her poetry has received awards from The Nevada State Poetry Society, Poets and Patrons of Chicago, and The Illinois State Poetry Society. Her most recent book A Hundred Pairs of Eyes is available on Amazon.
