Constrained Writing Contest #15 The Calm and Lonely One

At night the street lights shine brightly, illuminating the junction and giving light to this side of town. The night club by my right is usually crowded. Drunk men and women stagger out, laughing and singing. Some come out fighting with bottles flying around and wigs strewn on the sidewalk. A few men come over to me, look at me and shout "Thank you very much!" and then they urinate on me.

When the sun is brightest in daylight, a lot of people come to the park with many sitting on benches across me. Families organize picnics, couples stroll past hand in hand, kids on bicycles race while their mothers chase after them. Two doves like to perch on my head; they are my daily companions and defecate without considering my feelings. They sometimes sing sweetly but are always chased away by little boys who throw stones at them. Anyway, they always return and stay until dusk when they fly away.

During the rainy seasons, I am washed daily but never stay wet for long. The excrements of my avian friends are washed clean away. The wind is sometimes very heavy and it sways trees, bends streetlights, flings park benches but I remain unmoved.

A group of men drove up to me one day, brought out some buckets of red paint and splashed some words on me. The next day, a crowd gathered to watch me with many people shaking their heads and pointing at me. After a while, some policemen arrived with batons to disperse the crowd. A policeman came up to me and said calmly "You do not deserve such disrespect, Sir."

The scene in front of me is usually the same and I get bored all the time. I love it when people come beside me to take photographs. Will you come see me? You can find me just at the junction opposite the night club.