He tosses the sheaf
against a wall but
they, alas, will not stick;
he hands a sheet to
a person entering the pub
who wipes his face with it;
he lays one down before
the entrance but somebody
swipes his feet on it
before going in. Then
the poet has an idea
crumples the leaves into balls
calls up an ancient spell,
turning them into doves
who flutter to the roof
basking in golden sunlight.
Though he lives in Wayne, Ray Greenblatt has run poetry workshops in Media for the Mad Poets Society. He is an editor of the Schuylkill Valley Journal, and teaches a “Joy of Poetry” course at Temple University.