Poetry: Five Poems by L. Ward Abel

Five Poems

by L. Ward Abel
QuailBellMagazine.com

A Dry Equinox Before October
(to Randy Newman)


Vermouth coats the pasture
The olives lose their way
Summer wanes these last few days
It needs to rain
Ceiling fans turn from here
To Charlotte back again
Down Baton Rouge in unison
They drink too much they laugh too loud.

* * * 


Stork
(to Glenn Gould)


He used to be a friend
of mine, Toronto, though

someone said he didn't like
to talk, but sing, not really

singing. And even Bernstein 
acknowledged the sun

humming with piano notes. I
don't believe Glenn would

know me now, come to think of it
I think he walks Ontario,

his overcoat, agonized 
the penance the pilgrimage. 

He plays so late at night, he sings,
how can his parents sleep?

* * *


Busthead Skies

She mentioned the pinkening shelf 
a northwest sky lit underneath 
said the lines from Cumberland 
would cool things down tonight


People stood on the sidewalk drank 
took pictures fading setting 
like that Russian meteor 
the dashboard caught


Then while dark driving and 
highway money scattered through 
the County’s shiny heated afterness 
O she got it wrong.

* * *  


Shakes Her Richter

Missouri sparks candles 
of a failed cake 
of a payment from a war 
that was declared 
the guilt without 
a thought. And opium 
almost killed China. 
O we see a flailing 
final focused murmur 
before the long night. 
Stay away long night 
bounce off our shielding 
‘cause the paradox of tolerance 
shakes her Richter. 

* * * 


Washington

The rainflock sings again 
nothwithstanding perfect blue 
like a million, like one 
eyelashed all confused 
field to field pressure-cookery 
landing there in big patches here 
this city denies me by committee 
or stag and competes for 
endless things those wings 
disagree and the covey's being 
watched.

​* * * 
​

#UnReal #Poetry #Poems #Washington #Stork #ShakesHerRichter #Piano #Friendship #Equinox #Dry #Drinking #Cities

Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.