I used to think the land
had something to say to us,
back when wildflowers
would come right up to your hand
as if they were tame.
–
Sooner or later, I thought,
the wind would begin to make sense
the wind would begin to make sense
if I listened hard
and took notes religiously.
That was spring.
–
Now I’m not so sure:
the cloudless sky has a flat affect
the cloudless sky has a flat affect
and the fields plowed down after harvest
seem so expressionless,
keeping their own counsel.
–
This afternoon, nut tree leaves
blow across them
blow across them
as if autumn had written us a long letter,
changed its mind,
and tore it into little scraps.
– Don Thompson
Made oF White 