summer signals his eyes to lift
as the twist of the fan overhead
reflects the ordinary surface
of housekeys in a driftwood bowl
afloat on a lake of polished granite
countertops small-cone conifers &
aspens are suspended beyond the window
–the green evening the red gate shines
between a gap in the trees still
at this hour the air is iron-hot
–beyond the gate magpies land
in a line without sorrow his gaze
takes in everything
& everything that’s not
welcomes what is there & what there is
Jay Brecker’s poems are or will be in Folio, Kestrel, Rogue Agent, Poor Yorick, Sonora Review, The MacGuffin, Rattle Poets Respond, Birdcoat Quarterly, Permafrost, Lily Poetry Review, Ocean State Review, RHINO Poetry, and elsewhere. His manuscript, blue collar eclogue, was awarded the 2024 Marsh Hawk Press Rochelle Ratner Prize.
The Mantle 