Lenard D. Moore
Three Poems
POSTSCRIPT
I long for the summer sun,
so that I can read this book:
but the room slowly darkens,
the radio clock glows red:
I long for the music, too,
so that the mood might drive me
because I need a nudge to glean
whatever words whet the brain
PRELUDE
I reread my notebook of poems,
re-count the syllables in each line:
writers and singers populate them,
offering lines that capture my ears
in late summer when dusk comes sooner:
I hear the refrigerator hum.
It is a code for the shrinking day;
the phone summons me into story.
STORM
hunkered in the house, we are
listening to the hailstorm,
thinking about our safety:
sixty-mile-an-hour wind
streaking through the battered trees
as the streetlight burns orange:
we wrap ourselves in silence,
the shadows rocking cobalt
Lenard D. Moore
Lenard D. Moore is an internationally acclaimed poet and anthologist, especially known for his work with haiku and other Japanese forms. His work has been published in more than sixteen countries and translated into more than twelve languages. Moore is the author of Long Rain (Wet Cement Press) as well as The Geography Of Jazz, A Temple Looming, Desert Storm: A Brief History, Forever Home, and The Open Eye among other books. He is also the editor of All The Songs We Sing and One Window’s Light: A Collection of Haiku. He has taught creative writing and African American literature and has collaborated with poets, visual artists, musicians and dancers on several projects. He is the founder and executive director of the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective, and co-founder of the Washington Street Writers Group.