名人诗歌|selections from "Vertumnal"

Close call， close call， close call： this early in the morning

The raucous^{1 crows' raw caws are ricochets off rock.}

Afloat on wire from a dead tree's branch a piece of charred^{2 limb}

Repeats a finch^{3 that perched on it in its last life.}

Here under the pergola， loaded with green wistaria，

Misty^{4 air wistful with a few late lavender clusters，}

Light falling in petal-sized spots across the notebook page

（Falling just now for instance on the phrase Light falling），

And under the feeder where the thumb-sized Calliope hummer

Hovers^{5 like a promising6 word on wings thrumming}

To slip her bill-straw past the busy sugar ants

Through the red flower's grill^{7 into the sweetened red water，}

And over there in your office under the lean-to under the crabapple，

Its fruit （like tiny ottomans） rotting sweetly on the branch

（Bouquet^{8 of Calvados and fresh tobacco），}

Where in the midst of spades and pruners， hatchets^{9， hoes， and shears10，}

Trowels， dibbles， rakes， and sickles^{11 you ground your axes，}

Sharpened your wits， filed your notes and journals，

Moving through the garden， through all you made of where you lived

You catch your ex-son-in-law， taking photos， figs^{12， and notes on notes.}