Seagull s huddl ed nea rby di spe rse a nd fa n
o ut a lo ng the coas t. They' re a ll to Ada m
w ho sways like silk in the wind 's hand.
He reaches towa rd a bird until a ma n
and d og pass by. Th en gull s a re done.
Dog is eve rything, vaster th a n sky o r sa nd.
But ni ght cl amps down with its pink ba nd .
A woma n du sts him o ff. H er son
rema kes th e bea rd o f droo l a nd sa nd
befo re sh e plucks him from th e wind 's hand.
JESSICA GREENBAUM
A Day
Like This One
Says o ne genera ti o n to the next
o ur considera ti o n o f da rkn ess
ha bitual by then, a nd di sta nt
like the hori zon's black line
spro utin g ye ll ow ra ys
from the sun 's o pen fi st
in yo ur drawing.
If
we co uld o nl y
li ve among your flowers, their peta ls
chee ring like sea l flipp ers
th eir stems free from
cI
ustered burrs
o f memo ry. Even now th e line
di vides us, fo r insta nce, give n
today's a utumn balm I think
o
just like thi s very da y
but ca lmer, far less proba bl e
and so remember how we a te
brea kfast tha t mo rning, was hed
and dressed , a nd wh en we made it home
the skyline smoking but the w indows open
yo ur drawing fluttered from its tac k
like an y turned page
and we wo ndered wh o drank
from tha t co ld cup in the sink
