Occurrences across the Chromatic Scale
The way air is at the same time intimate and out of reach (a void with light inside it turned on a wheel of wheres) Stars' lease on sky expires, breathes in leisures of sparrows, wrens and casual trees, wet sidewalks twittering with tattered news, old leaves (hollow bones and branches) wind of wish and which and boys waiting for white kisses, rain of feathers, clouds saving their later Suppose this sunlight, day split open suppose these senses and the information carried, thing and news of the thing repeating place, location of position Birds, for example, remembered fluttering torn terms, congregations shimmer of hummingbirds but when does one see more than one tumbling bright flesh (sky at hand) pleating afternoon, banking on mere atmosphere, primary colors dividing white into three clean halves (red, green, blue-bitter berries rasp, crabapples crush underfoot), the spectrum says don't stop there (smudged light a lapse of attention) there's never enough world for you
Credit
"Occurrences across the Chromatic Scale" from Otherhood: Poems, by Reginald Shepherd. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission of University of Pittsburgh Press.
Author
Reginald Shepherd

Reginald Shepherd was born on April 10, 1963, in New York City. His poetry collection Otherhood (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003), was a finalist for the 2004 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize.
Date Published: 2003-01-01
Source URL: https://poets.org/poem/occurrences-across-chromatic-scale