ELEANOR ROSS TAYLOR

Communication

Black mouth for ear and ear for mouth
sat in the hallway mouth-inclined;
it yelled and yelled and when I came
I found the ghastly thing was blind—

It’s better to call after twelve;
I sometimes sleep till noon.

     After the tornado my father yelled
     Isaac! and soon
     across the rain and dark
     a bloodshot lantern sparked
     the littered road.
     His hoarse hands-trumpet
     shook: My barn’s flat! And Isaac
     bugled back, Ise coming

Now that you ask I will confess
I do work afternoons . . . 
with mornings lost,
evenings so taken up. . . .   Yes,

hope to see you soon.