two hallway octets

(1/9/17)

#1

19th century men & women playing
baseball in an orchard, pillow as home plate,

in one photo; wallpapered room, a zither
on the wall, man with a harp guitar sporting

a necktie in the next; city street mirrored
on a car trunk, buildings bending away from

a 1939 plate into sky in
a third: merging with, emerging from white walls

#2

a black baseball cap with embroidered cowboy
hangs from a metal knob; on the closet shelf,

Sandy Koufax autograph glove needs oiling,
shoeboxes stacked three deep—empty gig bag stuffed

between the wall & a green sport coat, rarely
worn now; rolled wrapping paper in one corner,

disassembled pedestal fan on the floor:
when the white door closes it all goes elsewhere



Jack Hayes
© 2017