THE YOUNG ONES

If anything is likely to make one feel old it's to blunder into the midst of a group of enthusiastic young people on a festive day.

SUMMER WEDDING

A wedding party gathers on the steps
that lead up to a sombre roadside church,
the guests resplendent in eye-catching style.
They’re mostly young
so swathes of tattooed skin predominate 
this sunny, summer day.
The girls, all young, in ostentatious hats,
resemble flocks of strange, exotic birds
while the young men, a dozen strong,
parade in tight, flamboyant suits  
and look like cheeky gangsters on the razz.
The air feels charged with energy and youth
and who’d begrudge them this euphoric day?
Come on, I say, 
and firmly take your arm.
Invisible and old, we hurry by.