Sunshine and Wind

i eventually give up,
defeated by boredom, by cold,
by power,
an incorrectly set timer, defeated by
city government, the parks department
turning on me at last! et tu!
by bureaucracy
failing to do the simplest task
of turning off the lights when the park closes
or worse, deciding to leave it on!

for who?

apparently for these two kids, age 6 or 7 ish
who come barreling into the park just as i am packing up
with their
tiny mother trailing, curious about my camera
curious about me bent sad over it
in the shadow of the tree, the unvanquished tree,
christmas, undefeated still!