Equipoise

  by Rachel Hadas

Early light slants low across the lawn.
Cuplike, this little valley brims with sun.
Pages fill and empty. In the mist
of a still morning, nothing’s out of reach.
Decades fade, the past glides into range,
recoverable, a pristine cobweb caught
motionless in one slat of morning light.
You’re on your daily walk uphill and back.

Summer’s end balances autumn’s start.
One apple falls without a breath of wind,
But fruit past counting’s hidden
in the tall grass. Like this valley now,
my heart is full. I start to climb the hill
toward you. My soul flies out
to greet you coming down.