YMCA Annex

Mounted on one wall
a board wrapped
in brown paper.
A signal of
impermanence for children.
Painted were a rainbow
and a hundred tiny hands
in the colors of poster paint
all spread palm up,
receptive, uninformed.
As I heard the
echos of soprano voices
I felt the fantasy of tiny fingers
brushing my
sophisticated face.
Smiling all around,
the people brought
the smiles in.
They were not
manufactured there,
but heated in the lives
that came there,
retaining their warmth
through the hours,
saying hello and hello
and welcome everyone.