-The attendant-

Articles less personal

Than those held back, 
Belongings of her grandmother,
Are placed atop a field-stone wall
Facing the wooded area across the road.

Backward, the yard opens quietly

Sloping toward the river.

Items are neatly arranged by category 

In relationship to those placed near them.

TABLEWARE:— Linen. Silver. China. Glassware.
JEWELRY:— Rings. Necklaces. Bracelets. Broaches.

Within these categories individual items
Can seem to be as different in application
As plastics are to fragrances.
But common bonds between them are formed.
  
The planets act this way.

A strand of pearls ranging from

Large as a cat's-eye to rest below the neck

To the small-as-a-pebble found at the clasp

Is examined by a newcomer to the wall,
Running the strand through an open hand,

Questioning: "Is a pearl missing here?"

There's no necessity in tagging descriptions
Nor compulsion to address personal attachments 
As gatherers drizzle-in like a pinching of
Salt to an open wound.
Storm-clouds forming westward
Beyond the river go unheeded.
Conversation is kept to a minimum;
Take a buck here and there and
Maybe it will come to an end with the rain.


                              April yard sale, Dartmouth, Mass.