To See if Something Comes Next

To See If Something Comes Next

There is nothing here
at the top of the valley.
Sky and morning, silence
and the dry smell of heavy sunlight
on the stone everywhere.
Goats occasionally,
and the sound of roosters
in the bright heat
where he lives
with the dead woman and purity.
Trying to see if something comes next.
Wondering whether he has stalled.
Maybe, he thinks, it is like the Noh:
whenever the script says dances,
whatever the actor does next
is a dance.
If he stands still, he is dancing.

Jack Gilbert

Posted over on Borzoi Reader