Prompt: “[…] My grandma likes Stanley Park and watching cargo ships.”

A Peaceful Day

Counting cargos on the harbour
Seagulls squawk, dive.
Chase crows across the blue horizon.

Where sea meets sky
A cruise ship carries
people snapping polaroids
to send to family back home
“wish you were here.”

A bench in Stanley Park
never a more perfect place
for a sandwich, a think,
and a rest.

Pinecones crunch,
Pine needles fade from green to brown
and I am walking
thinking of my first time
seeing the belugas at the Aquarium.

Wind blows and the trees, ever reaching
groan in protest, but sturdy are their roots.

Crows remember faces
and yours is a friendly one
smiling at the view under paintbrush clouds
thinking… “what a peaceful day.”

Hannah Bel Davis (2024)