Wayne Hubbard
Afterword
for Mary Oliver
i can say what i want, but the poems
are no more accidental. their outlines
stay present, trailing me through each season,
waiting for stillness to give life its chance.
they teach me how to study the winter,
how to note where the redbud leans forward
into the frostbite, how the wild grass
lets the bitter wind lay its stalks supine.
the leaves may blow dead in the fields, but they
are not broken, not lost, nor discarded.
they give their last offerings for summer’s fruits.
they ask me to follow their lead.
Wayne David Hubbard is an award-winning poet, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and author of two poetry collections on the subjects of home, science, and experience. He is the Treasurer of the Poetry Society of Virginia and works in air traffic control. waynedavidhubbard.com