JASON STUMPF
BLACK BEACH
Beginning with a line from George Oppen's Daybooks
I watched the bird flying until my eyes became the sky.
The sky grew heavier until night fell. The bird, at night,
became
an owl.
I listened for the owl and heard ocean waves.
I listened to the waves until my ears were filled with salt.
My
head became a rocky shore.
The night was cold. The cold became the break of day.
The
yellow sun floated higher.
A warm wind swayed the pines. It turned a branch
and
a bird took flight.
The bird flew off and I was blind.