John Levy


Bucket


In the little Greek fishing village in 1984
that was enough out of the way that we didn't
see other tourists, we ate at a restaurant

and after we left we walked behind it. A
widow in black sat on the concrete steps
leading to the back door. She had a galvanized

bucket full of water next to her and she
peeled potatoes, dropping them in.
Thirty-five years later she may

still be alive, in her 90s. The restaurant
may still be open. What seems most likely
is that the bucket is still in the family.



One Home in This Part of the Forest


The man hauls dead logs across submerged leaves.
Inside the nearby home a woman sings to her dog.

The forest is a pattern from top to bottom
to middle to bottom to middle.

Bacteria and fungi in the dead leaf the man steps
over

release enzymes to break down the leaf corpse
so it can be absorbed by their cells meanwhile

the man is 20 feet away from the action. The woman
hums in time, the leaf fell in time, the dead log

is dead in time, the man observes
what's ahead of him. The weight

of the log is
on

his
mind

in
the forest.




John Levy lives in Tucson, Arizona. His most recent book is available here: https://otatablog.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/john-levy-silence-like-another-name-ebook-1.pdf
 
 
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