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Jerry Ball




spring afternoon
the old couple in the pub
recall their wedding

 

 

summer evening
the girl who forgot my name
is laughing again

 

 

a dog begins barking
I approach the top
of a wooded hill

 

 

the tennis game
he asks his opponent
to tell him the score

 

 

the language of leaves
at that moment when they fall
and words seem to fail

 

 

under a hazy sky
my neighbor tries to tell me
of a restless night

 

 

the way home from work
my neighbor's geranium
in freshly dug earth

 

 

wilted roses
drops of blood on the fingers
that hold the clippers

 

 

end of a long day
I invite the universe
into my office

 

 

morning chill
the shape of an old man's breath
up a long staitway

 

 

(2002)

 

 

spring theater
backstage the actors
competing for laughs

 

 

the tip of the branch
a hummingbird's world
in a grass thimble

 

 

spring rain
the office manager
fumbles for his keys

 

 

the first plum blossoms
she calls me by the name
that she thinks is mine

 

 

a day of rain
the plum blossoms
drawn into themselves

 

 

first day of spring
the algebra problem
gets the attention

 

 

spring moon
deliberately I try
to prolong the moment

 

 

April sixteenth
the tax accountant wants
someone to talk to






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