Garden at 6 A.M.

Kenneth Pobo

Sometimes a dahlia’s sun-
detonated colors explode.
Four o’clocks, often
called old fashioned,
these trendsetters modeling
beside the shed.  My joy

feels tentative.  Last week
I saw a snake trying
to gobble up a toad. 
He got away,
barely.  Spider webs get
all over my face
like I’m walking through
cooked angelhair pasta. 
Back indoors, I feel like it
covers me.  Still, 

every morning a new
blossom, a fallen stalk. 
A bluejay screeches. 
A squirrel darts from
behind an oak.  Peace
looks for a place to rest.

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Kenneth Pobo
Kenneth Pobo (he/him) lives in Pennsylvania with his husband and cat. For thirty-three years he taught English and creative writing. In 2020 he retired from teaching—but not from writing. He is the author of twenty-one chapbooks and nine full-length collections. Recent books include Bend of Quiet (Blue Light Press), At The Window, Silence (Fernwood Press), Lilac And Sawdust (Meadowlark Press),and Lavender Fire, Lavender Rose (BrickHouse Books). Forthcoming from Wolfson Press is Raylene And Skip. His work has appeared in North Dakota Quarterly, Amsterdam Review, Asheville Poetry Review, Nimrod, Indiana Review, Mudfish, Hawaii Review, Southern Indiana Review, and elsewhere.