PREMONITION IN THE MIDST OF PLENTY, By Jean Burden

It was a day of loose words,

like shale,

with many stumblings.

The sun came out,

undecided.

I wandered the fields,

looking for landmarks,

but the rocks had strayed

like sheep; the moss

was on the wrong

side of the trees.

I ransacked the house

searching for what I had been

faithful to,

but the floors tilted.

I dialed authorities

for the day’s mantra, the season

and the hour.

I heard nothing but Urdu.

Now it is dark.

A wind rises with the moon. The cats

fatten their tails.

The walls rattle with rumors.

None of the terms are negotiable.

From “Taking Light From Each Other” (University of Florida Press: $17.95; 80 pp.). 1992 by Jean Burden. Reprinted by permission. Burden, Poetry editor of Yankee magazine since 1955, conducts master poetry classes from her home in Altadena, California. She is one of those legendary editors that writers across the country have benefited from.