An After-sunset Avenue in Montpelier, Vermont
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
For Linda Pervier
The arc lights in the darkness of the street
Create an eeriness in time. The leaves
Fall through them speeded up, it seems, to meet
Their death. A two-tone universe believes
That night and light should hasten loss if they
Are crudely juxtaposed, when they are placed
Against each other. Stark downward cones display
The fate of autumn leaf, leaf, leaf displaced
And doomed abruptly in so short a time
That they ram home eternity of death
Against life’s brevity. This paradigm
Is shown in moments shorter than a breath.
Split-second brightness ruthlessly is brought
To bear, but then each brilliant leaf is naught.
~ Phillip Whidden
by phillipw | Jun 20, 2024 | AU, DE, LI, PE, Uncategorized |