I sit in a plaza with a friend who
is wearing a black felt bowler hat
my wool cape clasped with a wrought
metal brooch that could kill a man
the table nods on the dirt floor
the earth has never been perfectly
round not even within and
though I am young in that village
I know I have to say goodbye
to my friend to this moment
at the table oh and to the volcano
its terrible beauty fastened inside
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Mary Buchinger
Mary Buchinger is the author of four collections of poetry, including e i n f ü h l u n g/in feeling, Aerialist, and Navigating the Reach (forthcoming). She is president of the New England Poetry Club and professor of English and communication studies at MCPHS University in Boston. www.marybuchinger.com