Not Yet

by Jim Tilley

Cracked pottery houses the pink begonias,
hairline fracture not yet grown large enough
to cleave the pot in two, the soil drained
of its moisture, but not yet spilled, blossoms
not yet wilted. Away from the fissure,
blue petals beneath the surface’s glaze,
clusters of three, detached feathers from
a blue jay no doubt, no longer nearby,
but likely not yet deceased. A bee alights,
draws from the nectary, picks up pollen
from sticky stamens and hopes it can find
pistils to pollinate. The sun votes no,
passes through a cleft in the clouds, slips out
of the blue. The nation, too, waits to heal.

Jim Tilley has published four full-length collections of poetry and a novel with Red Hen Press. His short memoir, The Elegant Solution, was published as a Ploughshares Solo. Five of his poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His most recent poetry collection, Ripples in the Fabric of the Universe: New & Selected Poems, was published in June 2024. His forthcoming collection, When Godot Arrived, will be published in the fall of 2026.