Diptych
I will hang out with my wife in shopping malls,
drink senior discount decaf coffee in the Vie de France Cafe,
and in fair weather: not too hot, not too cold, we will walk by a lake
Out past the pond, at the horizon
the Interstate
in the yellowing light of late afternoon
and watch a duck rise
and low-flying geese in a raggedy vee honking
The wind carries away the brattle of the eighteen-wheeled diesels,
the thrum of steel-belted radials on the cars of the afternoon commuters--
swift, silent shuttles
zipping the seam of earth and sky.
I will talk on the telephone to my grandchildren in distant cites,
read to them stories and poetry--
Don’t kid yourself-- kids know good verse--
they know, they know,
A pond was mentioned--
sky-reflecting, silver-gray, wind-riffled
on which a mallard rises, beating into the easy breeze
forgetting down as up they grow
ice cream emperors
ragged claws on ocean floors
scuttling
rude beasts slouching slithy toves
tiger burning tiger bright
fill up with snow the borogroves
Up for a joy fly, a bit of waterfowl fun
skimming fast and low
lifts, drops, and lifts again in the interstate turbulence
of air and water
and miles to go before I sleep, before I sleep--
Goodnight, goodnight.
...............................................Israel Lewis
The verses are from Interstate and What I Will Do Now
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