Seven Suns Story
The following is a previously unpublished “story” following in the vein of my poems from the book Seven Suns / Seven Moons, written with Tanya McDonald (NeoPoiesis Press, 2016). Perhaps this narrative is closer to a haiku sequence, or just a poetry sequence, but the distinction doesn’t matter to me. I first wrote this in April 2009 at the Field’s End Writers’ Conference in Kingston, Washington, where I was also a featured presenter. See also “Before Seven Suns / Seven Moons” and “Courting the Eyeball Kick: A Short History of Suns and Moons.”
seven suns
the juvie picks up
the glove on the pavement
seven suns
his glance down the street
into the sunset
seven suns
he tries the glove on
for size
seven suns
a label at the hem
identifies the owner
seven suns
the juvie on the bus
thinks of his father
seven suns
the locked gate
at the juvie center
seven suns
the plane crashes
through the playground
seven suns
the wail of ambulances
losing their way
seven suns
the juvie pulls a man
out of the fire
seven suns
the plane wreck quiet
at the breaking of dawn
seven suns
the boy at the hospital
with the man he helped
seven suns
the juvie hesitates
when asked to state his name
seven suns
the waiting room magazines
all for adults
seven suns
the doctor who strides
out of the E.R.
seven suns
the boy looks out the window
at a black gardener
seven suns
on the bus home
tears on his sleeve
seven suns
his forehead feels
the chill of the day
seven suns
missing his stop
he keeps riding anyway
seven suns
the megamall
open late
seven suns
he decides today
not to shoplift
seven suns
the juvie fingers
the glove in his pocket
seven suns
blue eggs in the nest
he finds on the sidewalk
seven suns
the dust of twigs and leaves
on his fingers
seven suns
news cameras
crowd the shelter
seven suns
the new cook’s
mac and cheese
seven suns
a piece of crumpled paper
under a dining room chair
seven suns
the orphan boy
times his pulse
seven suns
the boy asks for help
with his missed homework
seven suns
yellow caution tape
caught in a tree
seven suns
he gets up again
for a glass of water
seven suns
that repeated dream
of finding his father
seven suns
his stolen bicycle
back in its place
seven suns
another glove
found in the brambles
seven suns
baseball scores
on the radio
seven suns
the light somehow
seems brighter