-The attendant / An April yard sale, Dartmouth, Massachusetts-

Articles less personal than those held back, 

belongings of her grandmother, are placed atop the dry-stone wall

facing the neighborhood's lightly-traveled road.

Backward, the yard opens quietly descending toward the Slocum River.

Items are neatly arranged by category 

in relationship to those placed adjacent to 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 have long been 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: "Are these pearls authenticated"?

––There's no necessity in tagging descriptions nor compulsion to address personal attachments as gatherers drizzle-in, each like a pinch of salt to an open wound.

––Storm clouds forming westward beyond the quiet Slocum keep conversations

to a minimum and maybe everything will come to an end with the rain.