Sarah Gridley
Prudence
It is the science of appearances. It is the outmost action of the inward life. —Emerson
Some of the iridescence
is rose pink. Some comes
closer to violet. Blue skin
accents his orbital bone.
His call is not like
mourning. It’s more the green
a crabgrass turned by dusk,
a tray of sweating drinks
finding the dented table.
It’s sweet like the gleaning
of runt potatoes. It’s near
to the sound of not mating
at all. A mourning dove’s
uninhibited call meant to
an ancient soldier the enemy
was nowhere near. Like a music
teacher’s alto recorder,
it touches the woody
aspect of your ear.
And wasn’t her last
name Paddock,
like a small field
enclosed for horses?
Sarah Gridley is the author of four books of poetry: Weather Eye Open, Green is the Orator, Loom and Insofar. She is in the first year of an MA program in Theological and Religious Studies at John Carroll University.