Ira Joel Haber © 2006 All Rights Reserved
Ira Joel Haber © 2006 All Rights Reserved
Three Before the Fall
I.
Tree Frogs
The tree frogs dim
their evensong. Mornings
in summer, asters
outside the kitchen window—
the radiant of each
bears a small green jewel,
vanished when the sun repairs
to a southerly room of sky.
Fix each one with the eye
of a Nikon, find the odd
bloom shared by two.
Imagine
waking to find the day
shedding its velvet cloak, and you
centered in petals.
II.
Because Even the Crows Know
You shut the book,
wait for the voices to die.
There is only space,
crows filling it, the wind
blowing dust from the maple’s many hands.
Dry August. In the grass
you espy something shiny.
But the sun keeps walking
and it seems you were wrong.
Because the shade plays
tricks on the afternoon light
you are not convinced.
The crows know,
and they’ve stopped talking.
III.
Last Frog
He winds the clock
work of his croak
until taut
Audible only
the applause of alders
before the fall
And one more bird
he cannot name
breaks
against the granite sky
RONDA BROATCH is the author of Some Other Eden, (Finishing Line Press, 2005). Her work has recently appeared, or is forthcoming, in American Poetry Journal, Blackbird, RHINO, Poetry Southeast, and Tiferet. Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Ronda is the recipient of the 2005 Kay Snow Poetry Award, and the 2006 WPA William Stafford Award.