measure
.
At seventy three, Alice Ward had long ago
resigned herself to the inhumanity of man,
but still, as she lay on the floor of the bus,
unable to stand on her own, she was deeply
saddened when no one offered to help.
As the sun’s reflections flicked across the
ceiling and the bus gathered speed,
she was calmed by the sound of the
road beneath, and somewhere in the
distance: the sound of children laughing.
Temporarily blinded by the brightness
of the sun, Alice opened her eyes again
and found the sound of the road had
become the sound of an ocean being
pulled across the sand.
Gently lifting herself with her elbows,
Alice licked the taste of salt from her
lips and using one hand to block the
sun, watched a small group of children
playing in the surf; open and upside
down in the sand, was the book
she had begun.
