"Allô allô, where did all you people go?"

I set out today, April 1st, to shoot some photography of public spaces for an article I have on my "to do" list. As I was standing in an empty park, a squirrel stared me straight in the face with a look of both delight and confusion. As I walked home, I couldn't help but imagine him thinking, "Yo, where did all you people go?" Needless to say, I did not dive straight into writing about my reflections on our sense of place and space in this new reality. I wrote this little poem for kids instead. :-) 

Allô allô, where did all you people go?

The ice has gone and so has the snow. So, where did all you people go?

I'm down from my branch, but no one is here. How could you vanish and just disappear?

No French, no English, no Arabic either. No words, no music, no Justin Bieber*?

No shrieks, no chatter, down low or up high. No friendly greetings of allô, bonjour hi.

No dogs, no people, there's no one in sight. The birds are still here, but something's not right.

I know, they're hiding in their big boxes with roofs. It's an April Fool's Day joke, I know, it's a spoof!

Come out, come out, plus de cachette. Bring your paniers de picnic, fromage et baguettes.

Come back to the park, come back to the slides. Come back to the swings and roundabout rides.

You'd think I'd enjoy the peace and the quiet. No yelling, no shouting, no toddlers defiant.

But the two-legged creatures, I do them miss a bit. The park feels so empty without people in it.  

I'll close my eyes now and count backwards from ten. No more hiding you people, come back once again.

The squirrel he counted, one number at a time. He did the evens, the odds and even the primes. 

He opened his eyes, looked up high and down low. He blinked ten times fast, but no one did show.

The squirrel he shrugged and let out a sigh. He whimpered a little, then started to cry.

But once he was done, he remembered one thing. The flowers left in the Fall, but came back in the Spring.

”J'ai compris!”, Squirrel said as his frown flipped to a smile. The people they'll return, it just may take them a while.

So Squirrel went back to doing what squirrels do best. He climbed up his tall tree and curled up in his nest.

La fin. 

* Note from the author: “Maybe not such a bad thing on the latter.”