berceuse with passenger train
contingent whip-poor-will in those woods where “lonesome” is the response to all questions—
in woods where the question always sounds like “green” and “saturday”—
this humungous luna moth in the porchlamp, this bottle of milk of magnesia—
everything happens in threes along that specific riverbank—
a chalkboard, a rowboat, a sawhorse notched from cross-cuts and gray from sun and rain—
to say “i love you” or “i love you” or “i love you” in this actual yellow meadow—
blackeyed susans contigent on goldfinches contingent on a clapboarded folly under the elms—
that was your day, and this is your night, a brass floor lamp, a vinyl LP record, a bookshelf—
everything subsides to birdseye maple and a piano key and then another piano key—
crescent moon contigent on cows in the neighbors’ pasture contingent on a grackle—
those same white birches, these mason jars phosphorescing with fireflies and stewed tomatoes—
veni, veni, midnight train and hold my child in your wings without contingencies—
A.K. Barkley
© 2012
Image links to its source on Wiki Commons
Dampf auslassende Lokomotive bei Nacht (Evaporating locomotive at night) – 1896: Hermann Pleuer [public domain]
