Tangled

He’s that actor you don’t remember
from the movie you’ve seen a dozen times
or more. In the background, maybe ‘‘September
Song’’ but you can’t be sure. Was he in the scene
on an island drenched in reds and green,
angles widening as morning sun climbs
above the trees and in a heartbeat fades
into mist? He has the soft voice you hear
only later, outside, sounding the way blades
of grass look to you when autumn skies clear.
What was it he whispered? All that remains
is the whisper itself tangled in notes
from some other song. Its melody floats
now just beyond the sound made by two skeins
of Canada geese coming together,
gathering to face the heavy weather.