John Enright
Sunday Vespers, Samoa
for Liam
It’s approaching a thousand Sundays here
and I can find no reason not to celebrate.
We sit in the shade of a nonu tree and talk
about what else but girls and how we got here.
The passage of time has been given the day off
and there is a totally pink tree abloom in the bush.
My friends have warned me off from more poems about my son
but I can’t help it; we are binary stars
our combined mass the measure of local gravity.
See how all the neighborhood dogs come to join us
as we sit dripping with sweat, a football
on the grass between us, partners in a prayer
that such sure understanding might consume our lives.
See what an altar the sky is, he says, it’s on fire.
and I can find no reason not to celebrate.
We sit in the shade of a nonu tree and talk
about what else but girls and how we got here.
The passage of time has been given the day off
and there is a totally pink tree abloom in the bush.
My friends have warned me off from more poems about my son
but I can’t help it; we are binary stars
our combined mass the measure of local gravity.
See how all the neighborhood dogs come to join us
as we sit dripping with sweat, a football
on the grass between us, partners in a prayer
that such sure understanding might consume our lives.
See what an altar the sky is, he says, it’s on fire.
Page(s) 22
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