Rodney Nelson
A Round of Mast
weeks’ chill and wet when the leaves were ready
put muffling on the switch of day and night
so they did not brighten or drop
. just hung
in a thick but weakened green at dryout
I did not so much look as look on to
the overmasting I had read about
. a fall of seed and nut
that would have brought
its fattening round in any weather
and the sun found out some gold after all
in a blow of shrub leaf on the walkway
About the writer:
Rodney Nelson‘s work began appearing in mainstream journals long ago. He has lived in various parts of the country, working as a licensed psychiatric technician and copy editor, and now resides in the northern Great Plains. Recently published chapbook and book titles are Metacowboy, Mogollon Picnic, Hill of Better Sleep, Felton Prairie, In Wait, Cross Point Road, Late & Later, The Western Wide, Billy Boy, Ahead of Evening, Winter in Fargo, Hjemkomst, Canyon, Time Tacit, and Minded Places.
Image: The Rainbow Lake Behind the Castle by Matthias A. K. Zimmermann (1981-). Oil on canvas. 135 x 105 cm. 2004. By free license.
