Churches, Fields, Bridges

Rivers, addled below a bluff’s
mildewed town from which
              the country spilled
its broken windows
              ivy, spirits—
something happened here,
              empty houses

conjure shadow-full
              while extreme east
and west coasts teem,
              ignore;
overflown and coming apart
              this place is like
New Madrid when
              the big river
paid twice
              and then moved on
again.

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L. Ward Abel’s work has appeared in hundreds of journals including Rattle, Versal, The Reader, Worcester Review, and Main Street Rag. He recently received a nomination for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. He is the author of four full collections and ten chapbooks of poetry, including his latest collection, Green Shoulders: New and Selected Poems 2003–2023 (Silver Bow, 2023). He is a reformed lawyer, he writes and plays music, and he teaches literature. Abel resides in rural Georgia.