Richard Jones
The Trampoline
I would like to say something in defense
of the universe,
but where to begin?
Perhaps it might be wise
to start with the word trampoline,
from the old middle-low German
trampen, to stamp.
My neighbors recently purchased a trampoline
and placed it in their backyard
for their children.
When I sit at my writing desk
and look out the window,
I see above the hedge two small figures,
a brother and sister, rising, falling,
their faces beatific, rapturous.
I’m reminded of Jacob’s dream
and the ladder
which reached all the way to heaven.
That’s where my neighbors’ kids believe they are,
suspended in the air like angels.
Wisteria
While lounging on the porch this morning
a vague feeling of grief comes over me
until I look overhead at the lavender wisteria,
an explosion of powdery blooms hanging
from the pergola in clusters heavy as grapes,
teeming vines I must tirelessly prune back
lest their joy spread and take over the garden
and climb the steep roof to the high windows,
those abundant purple blossoms all rejoicing.
Rick Barot
Hayan Charara
Patrick Donnelly
Edison Dupree
Kathy Fagan
Federico García Lorca
Dale Going
Michael Hettich
Alan Hill
Adriana X. Jacobs
Marlin M. Jenkins
Richard Jones
Meg Kearney
Hezy Leskly
Frannie Lindsay
Ling Yue
JoAnne McFarland
Kylan Rice
Edward Salem
Danniel Schoonebeek
Rebecca Seiferle
Ellen June Wright
Ye Chun
Also by Richard Jones: "On Living," "I didn’t expect my father," "Impermanence," "Painting at Night," "Here on Planet Earth," "Selva Oscura," "The Nomenclature of Color," "The Way," "The Silver Cord," "Devotion," "Walking Meditation," "Folly," "True Country," "The Fortune-Teller," "The Study," "Subtitles"
In the store: Avalon, Avalon (limited edition), "Devotion" (broadside), The Minor Key
Review: reflections on Richard Jones’ Stranger on Earth
photo: Sarah Jones