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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PHENOMENA by ANDREW FRISARDI

First Line: I MISTOOK THAT HUMMINGBIRD
Subject(s): HUMMINGBIRDS; TRANSIENCE; IMPERMANENCE;
I mistook that hummingbird
for a dragonfly at first
metallic green
stopping and starting
beside the porch
then zoning in on bushes
and birdbath fast
as life is so short
as not to outlast
the falling of an apple
make up your mind Andrew
pray or fall asleep
but pray to whom
petition the warm green light
by lips are blades
of grass to praise the wind
nothing else to do really
but grow tired and dream
ache in the fingerjoints
and shine like dull metal.

First published in @3The Kenyon Review@1, Volume 22 #2 Spring 2000.
www.kenyonreview.org/roth





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