River by John Ashbery
It thinks itself too good for
These generalizations and is
Moved on by them. The opposite side
Is plunged in shade, this one
In self-esteem. But the center
Keeps collapsing and re-forming.
The couple at a picnic table (but
It’s too early in the season for picnics)
Are traipsed across by the river’s
Unknowing knowledge of its workings
To avoid possible boredom and the stain
Of too much intuition the whole scene
Is walled behind glass. “Too early,”
She says, “in the season.” A hawk drifts by.
“Send everybody back to the city.”
This poem was selected by Russell J. (Reader’s Services)