Neil Silberblatt

A Field

A field indistinguishable from
any other, fungible
blades of sweet grass
not Kentucky rye, but not dissimilar
stubborn stalks of weed
the bane of any weekend gardener
bare spots
awaiting seed and fertilizer
groves of mushrooms and truffles
awaiting a curious dog
rows of cornflowers planted by chance or wind
stones for skimming or remembrance.

Here and there, children lay
arms splayed, expressions dazed
some in their mothers’ laps
some still strapped into their plane seats
their luggage, so carefully packed,
now spilled out, like their owners,
waiting to be claimed.

 

 

Neil Silberblatt’s poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in various journals, including Poetica Magazine, The Otter, The Aurorean, Two Bridges Review, Verse Wisconsin, Naugatuck River Review, Chantarelle’s Notebook, and The Good Men Project. His work has been included in the anthology, Confluencia in the Valley: The First Five Years of Converging with Words (Naugatuck Valley Community College, 2013); and in University of Connecticut’s Teacher-Writer magazine. He has published two poetry collections: So Far, So Good (2012), and Present Tense (2013). He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and one of his poems received Honorable Mention in the 2nd Annual OuterMost Poetry Contest (2014), judged by Marge Piercy. Neil is the founder of Voices of Poetry – which has presented poetry events, featuring distinguished poets & writers, at various venues throughout CT, NYC and Cape Cod – and host of the Poets Corner program on WOMR/WFMR radio.