the picnic (swan upping)

The Picnic
The Fox, and Vixen and their
Four little Cubs
Hide in the Bracken
The Sun is setting
Through Clouds like Milky Sea-weed
Here is the deserted Farm
Down by the River
A family is picnicking
Tomato Sandwiches
A Thermos of Coffee
Tasting of Hot Plastic
They belong to the A.A.
Dad’s not Bad
With a Handkerchief Knotted
to his Head
An unread copy of the Mirror
By his side
There’s the Mum and Kids
Suddenly Swans appear
Attracted by the Humans
On the River Bank
They come waddling Out
Of the Water
Wanting Bread
The youngest child
Looking like Shirley Temple
Cries
The Swans hiss
The Picnic is Ruined

Christopher Baily
2000

©estate of Christopher Baily

[after Stanley Spencer's painting 'Swan Upping', above]