Fall 2021, Volume 31

Poetry by J.M. Hall

Expectancy

You are a delicacy
like and unlike

the chant—to be,
that sings this world,

of which you are the first
bracelet, and (for some

of us) the last perfect
rye. Like the pink that

grows sideways, against
the blue, at dusk, above

the hemlocks. Unlike these
or other syllables, artifacts

for a mason jar, or home
video library. Du scheinst

unchoosably to those
who breathe near you,

who write checks and ask
polite questions. You are

the best question so far,
and we are no answer.

 

 

 

BIO: J.M. Hall is the director of the liberal studies program at William Paterson University.