Almost Poem by Aaron Rudolph

(originally published in Pasatiempo,2015)

There's nearly a magic that surrounds me
when I am not looking or when asleep.
Even in daytime, when the sparrows outside
on the fence jabber for attention, beaks
poised high, their miniscule bodies shaking
from the effort. I wait five beats before
answering her phone call. Before I push
my shoulders out slowly and breathe once, twice.

Is it magical if laughter can stitch
moments together, if a quilt-like line
of stories can almost bring two people
to the same place? I can spend the morning
in my yard watching sparrows, listening
for each break in their song, each small moment
when wind slaps against weeds and a distant
knocking rhythms along like song, like hope.