In Praise of Blue Tarps
Cobalt as a child’s plastic pool, they hide
the rusty old Ford that reminds you of when
you were young, the woodpecker-pecked
birch logs and cordwood pile for next winter’s
fires, a mound of mulch that’s slowly growing
tree roots, detritus from the demo’d deck
you’re planning to rebuild sometime soon, a pile
of hefty moss-speckled rocks that might be
handy for rebuilding the shed’s collapsed
foundation, a rain cover or ground cover
for camping, if you decide to ever go again.
They drape time, wrap what you want
to forget. Even with their frayed edges, holes,
slashes, they embrace everything.
In Praise of Boredom
The Japanese maple leaves bare their lighter undersides.
The bluebird balances on the backyard wire, copper bib bright in late June sun.
Chiding passersby, the wren defends the birdhouse full of chattering chicks.
In the rocky river, water striders spiral in jerky surface dimples.
The woods echo with a pileated woodpecker’s staccato drill.
A neighbor drives by, waves clam-handed. Dust settles.
Imperceptibly, the sun glides past the solstice, forecasting
dimmer days ahead.
In Praise of Parking Lots
Searing underfoot in summer sun,
pavement teaches us the discipline
of stripes. Commuter cars line up
like cows in their stanchions,
waiting for milking. Gray and black
and white, an occasional red interjects
variety into the Holstein color scheme.
They collect in herds beneath
the trees, seeking fleeting shade.
The space expresses respite—
no more anxious piling up
the miles, no jostling for
the best position, no race
to get anywhere first.
At rest, the cars in this capacious
space bespeak potential—
escaping to a better time and place.
Corralled into silence, they accept
their fate. When night glides in,
even without a moon
their sleek forms gleam.
Karen Kilcup is Professor of American Literature, Environmental & Sustainability Studies, and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at UNC Greensboro. Her forthcoming poetry collection, The Art of Restoration, was awarded the 2021 Winter Goose Poetry Prize. Her forthcoming chapbook, Red Appetite, received the 2022 Helen Kay Chapbook Poetry Prize. karenkilcup.org.
