Last Month

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No changes of support—only
Patches of gray, here where sunlight fell.
The house seems heavier
Now that they have gone away. 
In fact it emptied in record time. 
When the flat table used to result
A match recedes, slowly, into the night.
The academy of the future is 
Opening its doors and willing
The fruitless sunlight streams into domes, 
The chairs piled high with books and papers.

The sedate one is this month’s skittish one 
Confirming the property that,
A timeless value, has changed hands.
And you could have a new automobile
Ping pong set and garage, but the thief 
Stole everything like a miracle.
In his book there was a picture of treason only 
And in the garden, cries and colors.

© John Ashbery