Bill Berkson

 

Baby's Awake Now

And now there is the lively sound
Of a panel truck heading due southwest
Along Elm Road, edge of dusk --
The densest light to see to drive by.

The underbrush has brown fringe
And small silent birds.

I saw the rainbow fire.
I saw the need to talk.
I saw a unicorn and a red pony.
And I didn’t want any deviled eggs.
I drove home with my collar up.

We’re alive. You do alarm me to the fact.
The light is on the window in the air,
And breath comes faster than the hounds
To sanction what remembered, what stuck.

from Serenade, Zoland Books, 2001.