Blackbird an online journal of literature and the arts Fall 2007  Vol. 6 No. 2

POETRY

Chris Abani
Victoria Chang
Michael Chitwood
Keith Ekiss
Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
Beth Ann Fennelly
Raza Ali Hasan
James Hoch
Cyan James
Julia Johnson
Larry Levis
Khaled Mattawa
Timothy O’Keefe
Catherine Pierce
Jon Pineda
John Poch
Austin Segrest
Louie Skipper
Ron Smith
Robert Thomas
Joshua Weiner
Lesley Wheeler
Charles Wright


MICHAEL CHITWOOD

12:12

Time does not repeat itself
though this afternoon looks remarkably
like yesterday afternoon,

same rudderless clouds sailing,
same yellow leaf schoonering down,
same three-legged dog hobbling by,

as he does every day at this time.
Where’s he going, this black dog,
shy a front leg?

It doesn’t seem to hurt
his dogged getting around.
His fur gleams, he sniffs the ground.

His ears flap with each hop.
If dogs are happy,
he seems to be

as he brings his pogo gait
by my window
this new afternoon.