U is for uniform

(1. having always the same form or character;
unvarying  2. agreeing with one another in form,
character, appearance; alike; of the same form,
character etc with another or others)

Walking Group at Eynesbury

Ed says, Bacchus Marsh is back to normal.
He's looking at the water lying next to the road.
He's talking about the drizzle on his windscreen.
I'm not even gonna turn on the wipers, he says.

Ron worries we'll get drenched and lost.
I tell him about the centenarian learning
to fly a helicopter. Nic says to Ron, You've
got years to go yet. Well, sixteen, says Ron.

Caleb smiles all around the track, joining us
as a walker for the first time. He's almost three
after all. When the housing construction zone 
shows up, he's mesmerised, and suddenly serious.

Jo's had a rotten week, causing two kids to be
suspended from school. One for disobedience
the other for showing off his nipples. His school
is Brethren. Jo says, Will they want me back?

Nic has had a torrid time dealing with complaint.
The complainant's integrity's out, that's obvious.
But that woman could destroy all we've built
if left to blame others, spread discontent, gossip.

Dawn pushes the stroller through sticky mud
with Caleb laid back, munching sandwiches.
When Caleb walks, Jo gets the stroller, empty.
Oh, says Dawn, Jo's mother, Look at her!!!

Karen says, These groves of gum are gorgeous.
What a clever idea, to make the walking paths
among them. She wants to visit family back in
the Netherlands, but so much money! Can she?

We walk together, talk as we walk, empty
the brain of this week's issues, wind our ways
between what were originally windbreak trees
forget to look for kangaroos and birds as we

establish our common humanity
air our differences.