John Brantingham

Symphony
 
I can hear the carpenter
next door humming,
syncopating with his hammer.
He vocalizes
only occasional notes.
I cannot make out the tune.
The rest of the symphony
must exist tightly
down inside him,
a concert helping him
through his day.



John Brantingham was Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks’ first poet laureate. His work has been featured in hundreds of magazines. He has twenty-one books of poetry, memoir, and fiction including his latest, Life: Orange to Pear (Bamboo Dart Press) and Kitkitdizzi (Bamboo Dart Press). He lives in Jamestown, New York.