Order this iTunes track from the poetry audio CD Hope Chest In The Attic 13 Years of Poetry & Prose ...Or order the entire CD set from iTunes:
	See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her prose the Playground live 9/17/15 at Story Teller Night at Roots Room in Chicago (from a Canon fs200 camera)
	See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her prose the Playground live 9/17/15 at Story Teller Night at Roots Room in Chicago (filmed with a Canon Power Shot)

The Playground

I walk to the playground. I have to climb through a tiny winding path to get to it. There are branches in the path scratching my legs. They annoy me.

Maybe they wouldn’t have bothered me if I were a child.

The playground is in the middle of an empty field. Children are playing, making a lot of noise. The swing set is full.

The grass around the playground is dead, probably from too many children jumping on it. There are a few sparse weeds that manage to survive the children’s abuse. They climb up the sides of the equipment on the playground. You never notice the weeds, until they catch your eye once. Then you always notice them.

The paint is chipping off the monkey bars. No one is climbing on them; one child is sitting on the top of the monkey bars, and he won’t let anyone else climb up on them.

Two children are yelling at each other. They are arguing over who gets to swing on the tire. Another child is crying. She said one of the boys stepped on her foot.

I turn around. I can see a few buildings beyond the trees, past the clearing. The grey one is the one where I work. I have to go back soon.

I can see part of a sign at the building. It used to say the name of the company on it, but the sign is worn and the paint is chipping. But I know what it says.

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