Two Octets (Vancouver Ave)

vancouver ave octet #1


breeze swirls off the river, its touch light & damp;
hornbeam leaves dazzle across the asphalt as

bicyclists glide south—orange sand bags weigh down
black plastic tarps in an excavated lot—

firethorn pomes flare up as the sun hits zenith;
over the stoplight this agitation of

crows; now pine boughs embrace golden leaf fall, now
traffic moves on with its lonesome one-way gasp


◦    ◦    ◦


vancouver ave octet #2


blue bus stop bench in leaf shadow’s quivering;
how frayed the hydrangea vines look scaling that

parking garage wall, for all their clenched new shoots—
maple seedkey spirals down, junco darts up,

hides in sweet gum’s canopy; rhododendrons
unfurl incrementally pink out of season—

the park’s giant go stones encircled; near them
the one woman may or may not be waiting



Jack Hayes
© 2016


11/14/16 & 11/15/16