Ice skating

Interesting I should be thinking about ice skating.  There is hardly any snow on the ground.  The temperatures don*t allow for ice to stay in anyone*s backyard these days.  Even in Minnesota, where I grew up.  Ice skating is a metaphor for a lot of life.  I have never been one for fancy spins and leaps.

Years ago I learned to ice skate

In the back yard.

I held onto a kitchen chair

Pushed it in front.

There was a tree stump in the middle

Of the yard.

I skated small circles with not so straight ankles.

They flooded the park playground every year.

The ice was frozen all winter.

We walked down the hill

To the warming house,

Learned to skate backward.

Nothing fancy

Forward and backward and circles

Was pretty much it.

I still skate.

I still skate plain.

The outdoor ice now does not stay all winter.

Now there are indoor rinks.

Forward and backward and circles.

Now I don*t even need ice.

I can move forward and backward

Even circles

Without skates.