Jane Blanchard

Interval

This respite from the regimen?
I wish it were to last much longer
Since treatment must begin again.
This respite from the regimen
Of more than normal medicine
Has let you get a little stronger.
This respite from the regimen—
I wish it were to last much longer!


Variation

Today at dawn, again we walk
The route that never changes much.
As usual, we choose to talk
Of dreams and news and meals and such.

While we proceed beneath some tree,
A squirrel slips and falls—kerplop.
Undead, it looks at you and me,
Then rolls and runs away nonstop.

A native Virginian, Jane Blanchard lives and writes in Georgia. Her collections include After Before (2019), In or Out of Season (2020), Never Enough Already (2021), and Sooner or Later (2022).