Swingers

Back and forth, back and forth, I prefer to think of myself as a pendulum rather than a mere plaything. You can measure time by me. From one high point to the other and back is a fixed period of time, even if the distance shortens or lengthens. It is a principle that allows for timekeeping and is used in the rather stately grandfather clock.

The only grandfathers I see though are the ones that lead the smaller versions of themselves through the park I live in. How those children squeal and coo when they see the slide or the balance beams. Many pieces of equipment have shared my park over the decades. Monkey bars were original but too many broken arms and concussed brains led to them being ripped out at the roots. A jolly little merry-go-round used to sit across the sand from me, but it too was ripped out for "safety" reasons. Many slides have slipped their way through this little patch of ground. The original stately metal model stood higher than the bar I dangle from. It was replaced with a lower plastic model. Then that was replaced with a fancier multi-slide piece of equipment.

I have stood through these changes. I have seen the sea of sand and gravel covered over with black rubber mats, safer to land on or rather fall on. Beneath me still sits a patch of sand, deeply rutted by the feet of generations of children. I like to think I have provided a sense of stability as I have marked the time for this playground.

Pardon me, here comes one of my regulars. He likes to daringly leap from my seat at the apex of the arc. It worries me some as there is danger involved. But surely they wouldn't replace me for that? Why are the bulldozers back?