I
Translating from the French; some words
Around an afternoon, a tree's
Blue-greeny shadow at the dead
Heart of a yard. Or a long straight
Avenue, with dusty poplars
And more distance in the distance.

Old, plain words spoken under rain.
Translating greeting and farewell
Into something that resembles
Geometry, with the poplars
Bent back by the wind and cross rains.
Somewhere unmarked. In the country.

II

What the rains said all afternoon.
What you would say if you possessed
...