J. R. SOLONCHE
I WANTED TO MAKE A COVENANT WITH THE WIND
I wanted to make
a covenant with the wind
so I went up
to the high space of the hill
the meeting place
of the two roads
and there
I promised the wind
that I would give
the wind
the voice and the motion
of my mind
if the wind promised
in exchange
to give me the motion
and the voice
of its no-mind
in the branches of the birch
and in the curly leaves
of the weeping willow
but the wind
had no interest
in such a covenant
with me
for the wind
had no use
for my mind's voice
and my mind's motion
It moved in my hair
and moved in my sleeves
and moved in the grass
next to my feet
and moved
in the curly leaves
of the willow
behind me
and moved
in the branches
of the birch
behind the willow
And then I went down
from the high space
of the hill with my covenant
in my hand
J.R. Solonche is the author of Beautiful Day (Deerbrook Editions), Won’t Be Long (Deerbrook Editions), Heart’s Content (chapbook from Five Oaks Press), Invisible (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by Five Oaks Press), The Black Birch (Kelsay Books), I, Emily Dickinson & Other Found Poems (Deerbrook Editions), In Short Order (Kelsay Books), Tomorrow, Today & Yesterday (Deerbrook Editions), If You Should See Me Walking on the Road (forthcoming in July from Kelsay Books), The Time of Your Life (forthcoming in 2020 from Adelaide Books), and coauthor of Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter (Grayson Books). He lives in the Hudson Valley.