This article is taken from Stand 231, 19(3) September - November 2021.
Name
At Judith’s Country House in Vermont,
echo of Beethoven String Quartet No. 15, Second Movement
Beethoven violins circling echoing dancing,
cello round and round, back and forth –
What is that back by the fence,
far edge of the meadow,
to the right of the big fir tree,
swaying, back and forth?
A bear?
Wrong shape for a deer, no antlers.
A person?
A ghost swaying, round and round?
Judith says, An aster in the wind.
Get the field glasses.
Can you see it?
A shadow from a cloud, circling.
It is not white or blue.
The light on the leaves, dancing.
How does Judith know it is an aster?
How does she know to name it?
Hunting season:
Bows this week – circling.
Next week, guns – echoing.
Violins circling echoing chasing
round and round, back and forth.
...
echo of Beethoven String Quartet No. 15, Second Movement
Beethoven violins circling echoing dancing,
cello round and round, back and forth –
What is that back by the fence,
far edge of the meadow,
to the right of the big fir tree,
swaying, back and forth?
A bear?
Wrong shape for a deer, no antlers.
A person?
A ghost swaying, round and round?
Judith says, An aster in the wind.
Get the field glasses.
Can you see it?
A shadow from a cloud, circling.
It is not white or blue.
The light on the leaves, dancing.
How does Judith know it is an aster?
How does she know to name it?
Hunting season:
Bows this week – circling.
Next week, guns – echoing.
Violins circling echoing chasing
round and round, back and forth.
...
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