Every Leaf

Terry Persun

Photograph

A tintype fades into oxides
of blue and green
where horizontal scratches
could be a tree limb:
a bloodless vein
where only blood
could color this properly--
two adults, a man and a woman,
severe and vacant expressions,
stare out in the melting sunlight.
Between them a child
sits on a wooden fence,
like a prop in a turn of the century
photographer’s studio
the fence is pressed flat
against the cockeyed background
of scenic wonder,
pressed flat, these three lives
now in two dimensions.

isbn 1-59661-096-4
66 pages/$15

Acknowledgments

Some of these poems were previously published in the magazines and/or chapbooks listed below, sometimes in different form.

Photograph: The Oyez Review (magazine)
Too Young: The Oyez Review
The Father and the Son: In the Story (chapbook)
James Wright, Ohio: In the Story
Photographs: Wind (magazine)
Without Pain: Wind
Pregnant: Etherial Dances (magazine)
History: Plant-Animal-I (chapbook)
The Joining: Widener Review (magazine) and Plant-Animal-I
Heartbeat: Plant-Animal-I
Hands of Man: Plant-Animal-I
What You’ve Waited For: Flower (magazine)
Flickering: Chiron Review (magazine) and In the Story
Only So Far: Rag Mag (magazine)
Light: NEBO (magazine) and In the Story
The Light White: Mind in Motion (magazine)
Construction Site: Plant-Animal-I
What You Thought You Understood: Long Island Quarterly (magazine)
Small Town Sequence: Plant-Animal-I
Flight: Soundwaves (magazine)
Thai Eye: Ocho (magazine)

Cover photo by Nicole Persun

Table of Contents

Photograph 1
Too Young 2
The Enemy As Savior 3
Write 4
Travel 5
Untaken Photos 6
Transformation 7
Solitude 8
If the Dead Are Those Buried 9
The River Man 10
The Father and the Son 11
James Wright, Ohio 12
The Fear of Darkness 13
The Train in His Chest 14
Photographs 15
Pregnant 16
Letter To… 17
History 18
The Joining 19
The Time I’ve Wasted 20
Heartbeat 22
The Hermit 23
Through Canyons 24
Flight 25
Hands of Man 26
What You’ve Waited For 27
Flickering 28
Only So Far 29
Light 30
The Light White 31
Construction Site 32
What You Thought You Understood 33
Dance 34
Small Town Sequence 35
Flight 37
Without Pain 38
Move 39
In the Story 40
Beyond Death 41
My Grandmother Told Me a Story About Abortion 42
Making Love 43
Sinful Bathing 44
Paper 45
Before Writing 46
The Ecstasy of Love 47
Ghost and Child 48
Bees 49
It Changes 50
Room to Room 51
Math 52
The Universe 53
Little Celebrations 54
Gecko Morning 55
Thai Eye 56
No title 57
Horse Poem #1 58
Trespassing 59
Softball 60
Awaken 61
Feeding 62
Passing By 63
And the Light 64
Fire and Water 65