DAN CHIASSON
FALLS, BRISTOL, VT
The waterfall runs all day and night,
shedding big self on the rocks below,
refilling with more self, more self, more self,
while bathers visit in small groups, never
the same bathers, always the same river —
my local, inverted, redneck pre-Socratic.
from, Where's the Moon, There's the Moon (Knopf)
JOHN BRADLEY
WHERE I LIVE
I live on the corner
of Ninth and Lewis, the last
house on the last corner
of the last block. I live
in that house where moss
and morning glories conspire
to topple the porch. I live
in that slab of light
you see suspended
in the night. Once inside
I'm no different
than any other
visitor to any other
star. That's what I love
about this story.
from, Terrestial Music (Curbstone)
ANNA SWIR
VACATIONS IN KURPIELAND
We wander all three of us
village to village, forest to forest
up to our ankles in hot sand.
Best is to walk barefoot.
Father collects from cottages
paper cut-outs, from garrets
he culls out old paintings.
In the evening
I sleep over a clay tureen
of wild strawberries and milk,
over a hunk
of bread as dark as earth,
from a loaf that weighs
as much as I do.
from Talking To My Body (Copper Canyon)
photo © susan arnold
