Paying Attention
…after a photograph, “Bucket,” by Danny Mansk
Sometimes a light shines
from deep within a thing.
A thing worn, well-used.
An old shoe, a wooden stool,
a rusted sign hanging above the door.
Sometimes the light spills, buttermilk-yellow,
and you don’t have to do a thing to feel
refreshed as if drinking from a cool pail.
Sometimes it shines from an old face
passing on the sidewalk.
It will carry you, in a dream, to a familiar street
where you walk, shaded by the trees
that you know are no longer there.
…..
This poem is from the Spinning the Stone by Jana Bouma (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/spinning-the-stone-by-jana-bouma/
Jana Bouma’s poems have appeared in journals and anthologies including Rattle, The McNeese Review, Natural Bridge, and San Pedro River Review. The recipient of a Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant, she earned her PhD in English Literature from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The Paddock Review 