‘This Autumn Evening’ and Other Poetry by Jessica Hoard

This Autumn Evening

These words of Bashō I cannot claim as my own,
but they appear again and again in poems I try to write
this autumn evening.

Three simple words I am unable to match,
unable to live up to with my own words
this autumn evening.

As short as a haiku is,
I cannot remember the rest of the poem,
this autumn evening.

The words rise up in the air from the leaves I disrupt
with heavy feet as try to clear my mind with a walk
this autumn evening.

They float out of the radio on smooth notes of music
I am playing to soothe my mind
this autumn evening.

I think them, say them, type them out,
hoping to break the spell of those three little words:
this autumn evening.

They drift through my head as I lay down,
unable to write, unable to sleep, drifting,
this autumn evening.

Teddy

Higgledy-piggledy
Theodore Roosevelt,
twenty-sixth president
of the U.S.

Nickname was “Teddy,” which
led to the teddy bear,
which I still sleep with, at
times, I confess.

Jessica Hoard is a poet and actress living in Chicago.

Featured Image: “Bashō” by Sugiyama Sanpu (1647 – 1732)

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