Landmarks

By Lisa Rhoades

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Even mown, the field shines gold, 
grasses fanning up in a whorl—
reverse sunrays—pointing 
to the overcast sky, 
a halo hammered thin.

The field, the players, 
the flattened baseline, 
the ball sailing 
to the wild edge of things—
all around you the world 
makes itself right. The rose 
continues its conversation 
with the railing 
you’ve lashed it to; 
the black walnut spills 
its fruit, a perfect gift 
inside a bitter hull. 

Even bruised, 
your marriage plows on. 
Why are you astonished
at the landmarks 
you’ve been given: 
the mulberry at the corner, 
the dog’s head upon your thigh, 
the sparrows below the feeder 
scratching for something more?

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Lisa Rhoades is the author of two full length collections of poetry, The Long Grass (Saint Julian Press, 2020) and Strange Gravity (Bright Hill Press Poetry Award Series, 2004), Currently a pediatric nurse in Manhattan, she lives on Staten Island with her spouse. Individual poems have appeared widely including in Calyx, Nimrod, Boulevard, and The Southern Review.

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