Good Vibrations & Swinging Umbrella

By Rebecca Jane Parke

Good Vibrations

The winter sun falls fast,

I watch it slipping behind

the fiery clouds from the

dusty windows of the

moving car.

Listening to The Beach Boys

after a day at the beach.

Thinking wouldn’t it be

nice when summer finds

her way again.

My welly boots filled with

sand in their crevices,

From moments spent

pretending to paddle

in my bare feet.

The skin on my face

soft and cold from the fresh

seasonal sea air.

December days spent doing

schoolwork and study. Only

moments of respite from those

days of dark.

I open my eyes,

I must hurry to college,

I change the song on my 

Spotify, Chappell Roan

will get me there.

No time for nostalgia.

---

Swinging Umbrella

Up and down,

Up and down,

As the asthmatic chest

rises and falls,

The umbrella went 

up and down.

The woman did not want

her umbrella that morn,

Unusually shaped to match

the unusual weather,

Alas gray skies

Necessitate such things.

The lady had to go

to town,

Errands,

The enemies of leisure,

A day spent saying 

ordinary things,

and making ordinary 

faces.

The girl needed more,

So her umbrella swung,

Like a child

between parents who

love each other.

Maybe no one would understand,

But somehow

they felt free.