ELIZABETH BISHOP'S WALK
(1911-1979)

We waved as grackles rose
on Cambridge Common

standing near the Charles River
a young poet on the corner

near the news stand
by the first rays of the sun

his alto sax blown near
the bicycle racks

waiting under every limb
of a hundred years of Evergreen

holding Virgil as a guide
by the law faculty

A Mass. Avenue sighting
needing your company

as you returned from Brazil
refreshed and vetted

I'm palpitating by a hornets nest
in an allergic reaction

after a therapy session
on meditation

shows you his new poem
and abracadabra,

the dead wind of September
becomes alive.