painting by marlene vine (marlenevine.com), poem by roy herndon smith
the mottled browns of
a bird sitting on a line
before it flies off
leaving the bluish
yellowish, and tannish greens
of a bushy tree
lush ivy catching
filtered sunlight on top of
the fence it covers
above shadowy
hollows hovering over
piles of last fall’s leaves
a mowed lawn beside
a patch of bare earth littered
with dried out corn stalks
dark round tones of bells
emerging from, fading into
rushes of traffic
distant jackhammer
riffing behind a chorus
of chirruping birds
flitting over the
neat and cluttered square back yards
bounded by buildings
a cool breeze ripples
through the mellowing warmth of
a late May morning
dust 