the distance between

on june 23, 2013,
one of the flying wallendas
crossed the grand canyon
on a tightrope,
fifteen-hundred feet
above the river
running along the bottom.

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i suppose you have trees

the evening sun set the oak leaves glowing
like bronze against the still-blue sky,
and i wished i could show you
how beautiful it was, could explain
why i wished i could show you.

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butter (good)

oh sister, bring out the butter (good)
and place it on the table there
then rest your bones
and welcome home;
for you we’ve always got a chair

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music from a distant room

i heard the voice rise and fall,
passion and hesitation twinned in its timbre.

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what we call the beginning

morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
what we call the beginning is often the end.

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network

the young grass stands slight
and fragile against the cold.

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twin

he was the quiet one.
red hair, glasses, freckles;
more sarcastic, or shy,
than his funny brother —
more intense than easy-going.
or, at least, that’s how i
remember him.

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streetcar blues

the streetcar opened six years ago,
and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

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(untitled)

it always catches you off guard
that first full look into the face, into the eyes

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communion

one sunday morning i went to
a feast of wine and wafers
where the children of God knelt
in reverence and silently received
their meal from white-robed saints.

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