Geese in autumn

We stood by the lake-edge watching a gaggle of geese on the far side. A friend spooked them deliberately. And they rose … to become to skein … and then a wedge, on their flight south. Magic.

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GEESE IN AUTUMN                                                  

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congregate in rafts of commas
necks curved for the clause

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they will write on high air currents
hands in pockets I watch
as they float on a long ellipsis
to a chapter where insects
skim smooth water

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the geese hold questions
that become conversations
on a slow afternoon
between myself and a friend
while the birds spread
black and white wings like stories
told between soft covers