Sweetest love

Down the smooth orange tongue

Of the playground slide we slip

Sucking on chuppa chups

Cherry for me, apple for you

A flower tucked gently behind your ear

Plucked from a nearby flowerbed of asters and marigolds

That bloom with wild abandon

Under golden trees ablaze with autumn kissed leaves

Your left hand, mottled purple with cold

Warming in my right

As we jump in piles of crisp star shaped leaves

Breathing in the rich khaki scent of wet earth

And then drop our backpacks

Racing each other to the swings

To arrive panting

Our breath visible in the icy air

Giggling and pretending to smoke

Cradling invisible ciggies between two fingers

One hand staving off the wind

As we dramatically exhale vapour-smoke

Fooling to be rebellious larrikins

When we aren't at all

We're just two girls who have found magic

And the world is a disco ball of earthy colours

Glittering gaily just for us