A Chevy engine hangs by a chain From a limb of the spreading ponderosa. The toolshed smells of stale blood And is padlocked. Trying not to be afraid explains everything. A riding boot slit down both seams Lolls behind the open door. The rising sun peeks under cloud cover @3As if for purposes of identification@1 And then disappears for the day. Hush now, I promise not to tell any stories With everyone afraid and trying not to be. Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, www.cc.press.org | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE COMING OF GOOD LUCK by ROBERT HERRICK THE KINGDOM OF GOD by FRANCIS THOMPSON THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS by JAMES BEATTIE WHAT MAKES A NATION GREAT? by ALEXANDER BLACKBURN A NOCTURNE by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT MY MAGGIE'S NO MORE by JOHN BROWN (1810-1882) ITALY by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT |