for the pears that escaped hail
and those that did not, their blackened malformed shapes
oddly compelling on the boughs
for half a day of sun rending a fortnight of rain
into days before, and days after
for the verdant scent of mown clover
and the drill of bees in its midst
for apricots
for flaws, for the first hard frost even though it
shrivels the basil
for the delicacy of feathers on a starling’s body
whether or not the bird is alive, whether or not
you love starlings
Header photograph © William C. Crawford.
Ann E. Michael directs the writing center at DeSales University in Center Valley PA; but she has been writing poetry for decades and has numerous chapbooks in print, as well as a collection, Water-Rites (Brick Road Poetry Press) and, forthcoming from Salmon Poetry, a new book of poems: The Red Queen Hypothesis (2021). She blogs at www.annemichael.wordpress.com.