Peter Blair: After Image

In December, the shadows of tree trunks
stay long all day, dark compasses pointing
northwest to northeast by afternoon.

Sweeping across the dead leaves and brown grass,
they take turns lounging in wide wooden chairs
in my neighbor’s yard, sliding up onto them like children.

Sometimes the sun projects a branch with a few 
reluctant leaves onto another tree trunk
and shadow-leaves grow from the hard, gray bark.

Sometimes the shadows trick you into seeing 
a long narrow trench in the ground, a gap that opens 
all the way to the center of the earth—you glance away,

then back, and swear your eyes sealed that hole forever,
but it’s still there, like when you turn off the radio 
and push the button twice by reflex, and it stays on.





Copyright 2022 Peter Blair. Peter Blair's books include Farang and The Divine Salt both published by Autumn House Press.