-George again / charcoal with smudging-

It was George again, now drawn in charcoal, smudged

for effect,–– clean, but for the effect in blurring the line.

I'd see him in the clouds every day,––

every day from my desk in the 4th row

and as the years progressed, every day

from another desk in another row of another year.

George in the clouds, under glass above the blackboard, spelling:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

It’s George in the clouds, hovering there

gull-white,

white-haired bauble,––  gull with a wooden

beak who could not speak nor blow his glossy nose.

So now comes the time for George to be drawn once again,
resurrected in his image as I know him at his best, this time

a brand-new face, a charcoal black,

a scribbling of cloud with its smokey effect.

There’s George again,

drawn by my hand, which could be proclaimed

the new hand of God.