Whispers Delaying Grace (1973)

"Dampness permeates the stillness./ The quality of the sounds/ that enter this geography of the senses/ is far distant/ almost overhead-/ the slow surf, miles away./ crickets./ a slamming screen door, way over and down./ and then a dog barking./ then another dog, farther, barking at the lives of the people in their homes;/ their lights reach out through the shining night./ Moonlight glows from beneath the shadows./ The heart swells./ It is our dream- and we are a part of it." J.V.