They erupt
with the suddenness
and ease of his laughter,
rising like the high,
wobbly syllables
of his singing.
Shimmering, drifting,
perfect in their roundness
as planets in a book,
they issue forth
from his lips
where he breathes
through the wand
like a birthday candle
he is wishing on.
Continuously,
they ride away
in the curve of leaves,
scoop of sky,
rolling without wind
through midsummer,
his gaze steady and lifted
as any creator
to the beautiful,
mortal world
he can still take
into his heart
without misgiving.
Boy Blowing Bubbles
DEBORAH POPE has published four collections of poetry, most recently Take Nothing (2020) from the University of Pittsburgh Press, which is also re-issuing her first collection, Fanatic Heart, in their Classic Contemporary Series. Her poems have been in many journals, including Georgia Review, Triquarterly, Southern Review, Poetry, Michigan Quarterly Review, Birmingham Review, and Poetry East. In 2019 she received the Robinson Jeffers Award.
Poem from Mortal World (LSU Press, 1995).