“Come Next Spring” by Paul Bamberger
“the epochal consciousness has turned a somersault in the void”
Karl Jaspers
from: Man in Modern Times
come next spring this category will swing its gate closed
yes yes we’re ready
but who are they these poets
we have no idea
could they be the wicked little joke we never quite understood but laughed at anyway
we don’t believe so
misdemeanors unallotted time and space
more than that
much more
a fight to the draw perhaps
that would be too sad
could they be a metaphor lost to an empty conclusion
too far afield
why then don’t we just say they are mercy screaming down a hill after waking the bones
the scavenging moon in chase
you might be onto something here
and do they come back often
yes come in spring so we are told
looking for what
who knows
i have heard they suffer bad mood swings
we’ll see
*
Paul Bamberger received an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts Writing Program. Until retirement, he taught at Northern Essex Community College where he founded and edited the North Essex Review. His most recent book is On The Badlands Of New Times (Deerbrook Editions Press); his previous book of poetry is Down By The River (Islington-Bryer Press).
