A fine fedora
the color of bone
with a velvet band
that sports a red feather
sits on the mulch
of a flower patch island
in the strip mall lot
as it would sit
on the head of a person
walking spritely
to a night on the town,
waiting for the wind
to jostle this new hat
so they could lift a hand to it,
hold it down like any lovely
and lightweight crown.
When the earth beneath their feet
asks to try it on,
they laugh, bend down,
let it rest on the ground,
and in a moment of forgetful
delight, or charity,
stand up straight again
and walk on.
Jo Angela Edwins has published poems in over 100 journals and anthologies. She is the author of A Dangerous Heaven (2023, Gnashing Teeth) and Play (2016, FLP). She teaches at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC, where she serves as the poet laureate of the Pee Dee region of the state and as butler and nurse to four fussy cats.
© 2024, Jo Angela Edwins
Halfway Down the Stairs 