When the Light is Behind

I had listened to someone made querulous by pain,

I had listened to someone made fearful by dementia,

I had listened to someone made pitiful by alcoholism,

I had listened to someone made slow by stroke

All in one evening I had listened, and driving home

Geese and goslings , eating clover,

walked the side of the road

and around each little gosling

a trick of the lowering angle of sun made

A pollen-colored, yellow green

Halo

a halo of fuzz, of foolishness,

plumpness, temporality

Don’t get hit, I made a little prayer,

As I drove past.