No Help for That | Jackie Clark

Folding chairs and folded paper

taciturn born anticipation

slinging thread crossed and knotted

covering no one, when no one is near

the open glade slides along a metallic edge

a man makes a lake to cool off the land

the ghost show stars 10 little fingers in a plastic case

pink and orange hollyhocks toned by geography in the back yard

the alignment of beetle shells on bark

toad-padded sidelines, their chins pulled tight

acquired by burnishing perimeters

red and swollen and careening

the roaring civilian incident

action waits to be retrieved from those who know better