Three Poems: Openings, Between Lines, and The Borrowed Map — English 7: Reading, Evidence & Expression

Openings 1 The latch remembers winter in its rust. 2 We press; the door replies with half a sigh. 3 A stripe of daylight settles in the dust. 4 Our careful labels cannot tell us why 5 the quiet visitor has paused outside. 6 We move a chair; a path begins to show. 7 The words above the doorway stay as wide, 8 but now our feet can learn where they should go. 9 I leave a space beneath the final line. 10 A pencil waits beside the welcome sign. 11 Tomorrow someone else may change the plan. 12 A door is more than saying that you can.

Between Lines 1 My ruler makes a border 2 straight enough to trust. 3 Your question crosses over 4 and gathers in the dust. 5 I wipe the page. 6 The mark remains. 7 A narrow line 8 has room for names. 9 I put the ruler down 10 and listen to the space.

The Borrowed Map 1 I borrowed a map with a lake colored blue, 2 and walked to the place where the water once grew. 3 The reeds told a story the paper left out; 4 a dry path of footprints bent slowly about. 5 I added a date, then returned it with care: 6 a map can be useful and still need repair. 7 The next pair of travelers may ask something new. 8 I leave them a margin, a pencil, a view.