BOUNCY BOUNCY
Just down the street there’s a home that has a large hoop
So the youth can play ball, bounce it and holla and whoop,
All through the long winter there is silence everywhere,
Not sound of a bouncing ball or whoops in the cold air.

But as soon as the snow goes the bouncy sound returns,
Even when it’s dark quite late they continue to take turns
To bounce, throw and whoop around well into the night.
It’s even worse in mid summer when it stays quite light.

Bouncy, bouncy, silence, then a thud, repeated often too,
There is a whoop, you know one managed to get through,
They are not really noisy but the bouncing ball can keep
Your mind thinking and drives away sweet quiet sleep.

Last night there was no noise, no bouncy, bouncy ball,
The quietest night since the winter that I can yet recall,
I could not sleep for I was waiting for the sound to begin,
It seems that at bedtime sweet restful sleep we cannot win.

(Millicent) Ann Margetson 22 July 2004