Anna Couani #38 I remember (for Mark Roberts)

I remember the gingerbread house
made of cardboard
for the festival
then dumped in our backyard
as a cubby
I guess it got rained on
it seemed to rain most
afternoons in summer

I remember the steamroller
not sure if it was
steam-driven
but the big roller
was so impressive
it was like a giant
children’s toy
and in the Council yard
where children were not allowed
we went there and jumped
on the sheets of fibro
made a great sound
as they broke

I remember the big circular mats

made of woven straw
we used to throw them 

onto the blackberry patch
then sit in the middle
and eat blackberries
normally out of reach

We gazed into the lily pond
we were told it was bottomless
but that was hard to believe