One minute a slender pine indistinguishable from the others
the next its trunk horizontal still green the jagged stump
a nest for the flickers
one minute high wind and rain the skies
lit up the next a few bright winking stars the lashing of the brook
one minute an exaltation in the apple trees the shadblow trees
the next white trash on the ground new birds
or the same birds crowding the feeder
one minute the children were sleeping in their beds
you got sick you got well you got sick
the lilac bush we planted is a tree the cat creeps past
with something in her mouth she's hurrying down to where
the culvert overflowed one minute bright yellow
marsh marigolds springing up the next
the farmer sweeps them into his bales of hay
dang this one is awesome. from The New Yorker (March 5, 2012)
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