“Today at the Park” by Whitney Collins

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Today at the park
This is what I saw:

Four dogs dressed as Californians
A woman with elbows like two loaves of soft, unbaked sourdough
A man tapping a pack of cigarettes on a stroller
Six Slim Jim wrappers
And a boy, with a runaway’s face, named Donovan

How do I know his name was Donovan?
Because his mother said “Donovan” ninety-five times
Loudly and with false patience
Over by the broken tire swing

There was also an approaching storm
And no nearby shelter
And a group of sour teenagers renting paddleboats
And a man fishing with fried chicken
And a gal, with a slight beard, wearing a shirt that said
KEEP CALM AND SWAG ON

Thirty-six geese looked on with contempt and honked:

“We mate for life at age two.
We migrate 2,500 miles.
We can reach 70 mph with a good wind.
We are mostly vegetarians,”

Over by the broken tire swing, I saw Donovan
Digging in the mulch with an old Wendy’s cup
And his mother adjusting her cleavage
Before taking pictures of herself

I also saw an empty bottle of Gordon’s gin over by the slide
And a jelly sandal over by the overflowing trash can
And I noticed that the storm was closer
Much closer
And much darker
And still
No nearby shelter

And I thought to myself
Why are none of these people taking cover?
I mean
SERIOUSLY
It’s the first thing I’m going to do
Just right after this Rick Astley song is done downloading on my phone

And it was then
That I stopped cold
And prayed
For Jesus to take the wheel
And drive the storm straight at the park
Sparing only the geese

And maybe Donovan

-Whitney Collins

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