Past oblong greenish plots, condensed in scale,
by hedge defined, brick-edged and picket-fenced
in white, a figure shimmers; short-sleeve pale
embroidered polyester; name, if sensed
then unpronounceable. He bends to lift
a squealing eight-pound lump, a ready stance,
then casts it rolling sidelong through a rift
with English; shoulders twitch a steering dance.
In flight, the flashing nights and days decay.
A football's kicked, grass trimmed, the children wed,
hedge pruned, a final hand of bridge to play,
then startled eyes, the flummoxed freshly dead.
   The languid pillars tumble without end
   and bending low, he hefts to cast again.

 
Dec. '99