2001 Poem

FALLOUT

by David Radavich

A single note is all I hear
that stretches from a distant
strain to raid the ear

that apprehends
without vibrato the end
of an era, clear

and unmistakable
as a stone
someone kicked along a path
and we are alone

we feel although together
we resonate the same
hard sound or plaintive
without a name

we can give to our suffering
but to eye a clear sky
that abrogates
and then

no songbirds fly

Published in The Countries We Live In (2014).