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Column 780

The Return

Intro by Ted Kooser
03.01.2020

That sage curse, May you live in inter­est­ing times,” has been upon us for the past few years, but here a Ken­tucky poet, Jonathan Greene, offers us some reas­sur­ance that there is order in the world. Greene has a spe­cial tal­ent for, and love of, short poems, and this is a good exam­ple of his work. This poem is from his most recent book, Afloat, pub­lished by Broad­stone Books. 

The Return

We are heartened
when each year
the barn swallows
return.

They find their old nests,
teach their young to fly,
lining up on the barn roof
for their first flight.

They remind us,
for now, some rituals
of this good earth
continue.


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Disclaimer

We do not accept unsolicited submissions

We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2018 by Jonathan Greene, "The Return," from Afloat, (Broadstone Books, 2019). Poem reprinted by permission of Jonathan Greene and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.