a straw cowboy hat
a canteloupe sunrise a snow glazed ridgeline
a white-crowned sparrow in a willow
a narrow wallpapered hallway its doors all closed
a white wicker hamper
a diner glinting stainless under a palm tree
you are someone else you cannot be known
headlights on the dirt road at 5:00 a.m.
a raven hunched on a cedar fence post
a black madonna
a haystack draped with a silver tarp
a styrofoam coffee cup
what does memory show
a sheet of beeswax for candles
a waxing moon electrifying the snow
you are someone else you cannot be known
a green linen sport coat
a blue glass mixing bowl
a ticket stub you can’t recall the film
a line that divides & connects
frost constellated across this morning’s windshield
reflections in a resonator guitar
a stainless steel measuring cup a red plastic handle
a magnolia petal like a sob & another
the naked thorn trees the January garden
a ring-neck pheasant forages next to the tall hedge
a highway's divided line
Jack Hayes
© 2010
I really like the juxtaposition of the natural world with the man-made. Of course, the bird imagery really resonates with me.
ReplyDeleteNice one!
Hi Kat: So glad you liked it! & thanks again for your support of the book!
ReplyDeleteOh Wow. You've really hit on something...
ReplyDeleteSo special, brings tears to my eyes.
I feel like I'm home in it, you know?
It flows so nicely.
...
Wonderful, wonderful job.
Hi Ginger: Wow--thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThis is splendid, John. (Are you wearing that straw cowboy hat in the photo above?!)You've captured the movement of a helix -- does a helix have movement? You've given it movement. That's one of the wonders of poetry, its ability to create movement on the page and through the language.
ReplyDeleteHi T: Yes, that's me in the cowboy hat--way back in 88 in Barstow, CA, in the midst of one of the x-country road trips. Thanks so much for your words about the poem. Maybe a helix has frozen movement?
ReplyDelete