Writing Poems for Friends

Writing Poems for Friends

Younger he wished
The catalpa
Or flowering Judas,
Or a path
Of washed stones—
These would bring true hearts
To his gate…And hymns
Wholly Russian,
Pepper and lamb,
Wormwood in vodka,
Stravinsky
On the phonograph,
Clouds coming close…

Now he’s less invitational
And more the resigned diarist.
Reads late at night in Finnish
The word for song: laulu,
The word for island: saari
And the phrase: kevat simfonia,
Which means, essentially,
A little symphony for your shoes…