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Rodney Nelson

My debut in print occurred in 1970: Georgia Review, Nimrod. A lifelong nonacademic, I got into freelance copyediting and began writing novels and plays; but something went amiss, and I neglected to write any poetry between 1982 and 2004. Everything appearing in the ezines now has been written since the latter date: check Big Bridge, Hamilton Stone Review, nthposition, Liminal Pleasures, Retort, others. It was not my verse that got me an invitation to be in the 2000 Who's Who in America. After living too many years in Francisco and Arizona, I became a semi recluse in the American Great Plains. Of course.

FARGO

In sunstead week the day had not
a height but evening-country light
at what would have been noon that seemed
to mean to remain
                  the river
below north dam was open all
the way on and a mild west wind
went at the downed leaves one more time
                  the
winter light of Grenoble
or Klagenfurt and no snow here
and nothing to complain of but
man
                  even the crows were feeding
in too warm and easy a yard
to do that but the light would not
stay to get crepusculine and
a new moon would show earlier
than the early fadeout of day