Asking Price by Roberta Schultz (Ships April)

Sink Hole

Where the creek once carved

its path through our backyard

and past dwellers bulldozed

the nearest half of a large lake,

the earth sinks in. For years

we fed the open maw on leaves

and clippings, its lips now lush

with wild blackberry bushes.

All July I walk the beagle pup

into the gorge so I can pick

the latest ripe berries.

I smile as I recall the Zen story

of a man who falls off a cliff

to his death. Halfway down

he notices a ripe berry, grasps it,

pops it into his mouth to savor.

One last taste of this good earth

seasons his plunge into darkness.