Mid-Thought Walking Blues

—And that's when I spotted the strangest of sights,

A squirrel doing yoga in spandex so tight,

While pigeons were gossiping near the duck pond,

"Did you hear what that robin did? I'm not fond—"

Wait, hold on a second, did I lock my door?

I was thinking of grocery lists, then some more

About whether my landlord would notice the stain

From last Tuesday's spaghetti—oh look, it's going to rain!

The clouds are assembling like jury members stern,

But first let me finish this mental concern:

Did I remember to feed my pet fish?

(His name is Sir Bubbles—that was my wish)

A jogger just passed wearing neon so bright

It could guide lost airplanes throughout the night,

Her ponytail bouncing with rhythmic precision

While I'm here debating my life's biggest decision:

Should I take the left path or venture, right?

One leads to the playground (kids screaming in sight),

The other meanders past elderly folks

Who sit feeding pigeons and sharing dad jokes.

"Why don't scientists trust atoms?" I hear

Old Herbert declaring with impish cheer,

"Because they make up everything!" comes the reply—

Now that's stuck in my head as I'm walking by.

My shoelace is loose but I can't be bothered,

The ground's looking up at my gait, slightly bothered,

Each step makes a squelch in the mud from last night—

Did I mention it rained? Well, that's quite a sight.

A dog walker approaches with seventeen breeds,

Or maybe just five, but who's counting indeed?

They're tangled in leashes like Christmas tree lights,

While she's on her phone discussing her rights

To return those shoes that were clearly too small—

"The salesman insisted they'd fit, but that's all

Just marketing nonsense," she says to her phone,

While Chihuahua number three chews a beef bone.

I'm thinking of lunch now—what shall I eat?

A sandwich? Some soup? Something spicy and sweet?

My stomach just growled with impressive volume,

The ducks heard it clearly and started to swim

Away from my presence (how rude, I declare!),

While overhead branches wave taunts in the air,

The oak tree looks smug with its leaves turning gold,

As if autumn's arrival makes stories worth told.

A cyclist zooms past with a bell that goes DING!

I jump to the left like some startled spring

That's been coiled too tight in a factory machine—

The most graceful move that I've never been.

Now where was I going? I've clean forgotten,

My memory's clearly become somewhat rotten,

Was I heading to meet up with friends for some tea?

Or escaping from chores that were chasing me?

The park bench ahead has a newspaper spread,

With headlines declaring "The Sky's Falling!" I read,

But looking up quickly, the sky seems intact,

Though that cloud looks suspicious—and that's just a fact.

A fountain is spurting with musical flair,

Like some liquid soprano performing mid-air,

While children are shrieking and running about,

Their parents look ready to quietly shout

"Please just sit still for one minute today!"

But kids will be kids in their own special way,

They're climbing on things that weren't meant to be climbed,

Their energy perfectly synchronized and timed.

My phone starts to buzz—oh, a text from my mom:

"Did you eat? Are you well? Have you studied for—" BOMB!

A pigeon just dive-bombed my head from above,

Apparently mistaking my hair for its love.

And that's when I realized, mid-stride and mid-thought,

That parks are just theaters where chaos is taught,

Where squirrels do yoga and pigeons tell lies,

And somehow it all makes for quite the surprise—

But speaking of which, what was I just thinking?