Two Octets (Fremont St & Skidmore St)

fremont st octet #5


oak leaf caught on a thorn of the yellow rose;
I’ve meant to tell you—or how scrub jays forage

through those persimmons—as for the garden,
black loam’s mounded by a silver tarp, ruined

sunflowers bow, lavender lifts pale branches
with purple constellations—you’ve noticed how

food trucks compass the abandoned gas station:
cold rain taps my shoulder like a companion



◦    ◦    ◦


skidmore octet #4

golden bamboo lines the alley, their slight lean
north inexplicable; further down, trash bins—

a chinese chestnut soars in the yard, big leaves
hanging high above the brick chimney—below

two mophead hydrangeas fade from their purple
wakefulness, hydrangea next to the downspout—

cry of scrub jays from the holly across the street:
one crow answers from the naked cherry tree



Jack Hayes
© 2016

11/25/16 & 11/26/16