The Other Side of the Hour
Who knows what is going on on the other side of each hour?
—Juan Ramón Jiménez
The dog won’t go out the door
into the moonlit night. He turns back
as if stung by the cold, retreating
back to the warm bed, looking
apologetic as he does so.
Is it the dark beast you can’t see
but he smells on the other side of the hour?
The phone rings too late for good news
but you answer it anyway. A stranger
sounds surprised, then apologizes
for waking you. But did he?
Now you think of a dream
talking with your father, a year or more
after his death—his unflappable voice
all matter-of-fact as usual telling the news.
He says death isn’t at all like you think.
But he adds, see the truth for yourself.
When morning comes, you’re in the kitchen
with your Cheerios and coffee. The day
has been old for hours now, but you
still haven’t heard the surprising news.
Everyone else already knows
on the other side of the hour.
*
David Graham’s latest book is The Honey of Earth from Terrapin Books (2019) and Local News: Poetry About Small Towns, an anthology co-edited with Tom Montag (MWPH Books 2019). I’m a retired teacher and an unretired poet and photographer. I live in Glens Falls, on the edge of the Adirondack Park.
Great poem!