Tension

Five cables hold the power line
to the ground by the soccer field
and swing set by the Protestant church.
Still the pole bends like the flexing
wood of a bow drawn back
to the cheek of a hunter,
but there is no need for
unsightly acts like that
out here.

Cardinals scavenge the mud
and twigs for almost anything
and feed it to their young
hidden away in all this
distinguished vernal greenery.
Some kid drives the smallest
kind of tractor over knoll grass.

The shops overflow
on this weekday morning
no one really working
beyond a sorted few.
Women walk out
glass automatic doors
to the unclean parking lots
in brand new dresses
and hats seeking
the music of their past,
but it remains
out of reach.