DULCET TONES APOLOGIZES

I played Kick the Can—
until I felt sorry for the can.  I carried it 
from the cement road and let it rest 
on my window sill with a view 
of our Chinese elm tree, a magic tree, 

as all trees are.  I squirted the wash cloth 
from the kitchen sink with dish soap
and carried it back to my room.  
The can looked cleaner, even shiny,
but I had bent it up too much.  
I told it secrets, a tin priest 
forgiving me again 

and again.  I grew up, sort of, 
and took the can with me.  
I don’t much believe in luck, 
but I’m superstitious.  It’s not 
that I fear something bad 
will happen if I let it go—
I fear I’ll miss out on something good.  

When I look at lit candles at night, 
I miss the moon.  And I need it 
for the many songs 
only it can teach me.

Kenneth Pobo is the author of twenty-one chapbooks and nine full-length collections.  Recent books include Bend of Quiet (Blue Light Press), Loplop in a Red City (Circling Rivers), and Uneven Steven (Assure Press). Opening is forthcoming from Rectos Y Versos Editions. Lavender Fire, Lavender Rose is forthcoming from Brick/House Books.