North and South

In the foreground the path leads
into woods, rather, to a stand of trees
that thickens into woods.
Angling south the path leads
across the field to a house
with a slanted roof. I can’t see
windows and doors, or a person
cross the field and enter the woods,
only a gray sky with a few clouds,
myself looking up at the gilded frame.
The space within is Ruralville,
ten miles north of Worcester, Mass.

In Ascension, LA. Calixta
approaches Alcee’s porch.
He stands in the door.
What a surprise, her being here.
The sky darkening, across the field
birds fly from wind-rocked trees
to trees deeper in, in Chopin’s story.
Undress, Calixta says
with her eyes.
They caress on a monumental bed.
The hour is getting late.
They look out at the storm.