9780156034753 | Bucolics

Untitled and unpunctuated, the seventy poems in this acclaimed collection seem to cascade from one page to another. Maurice Manning extolls the virtues of nature and its many gifts, and finds deep gratitude for the mysterious hand that created it all. that bare branch that branch made black by the rain the silver raindrop hanging from the black branch Boss I like that black branch I like that shiny raindrop Boss tell me if Im wrong but it makes me think youre looking right at me now isnt that a lark for me to think you look that way upside down like a tree frog Boss Im not surprised at all I wouldnt doubt it for a minute youre always up to something Ill say one thing youre all right all right you are even when youre hanging Boss

TERM	PRICE	DUE
SEMESTER	$10.00	Dec 11
QUARTER	$10.00	Sep 15
SHORT TERM	$10.00	Aug 07

MAURICE MANNING’s poems have appeared in the Southern Review, the Virginia Quarterly Review, and the New Yorker, and his first collection of poems was awarded the Yale Younger Poets Award. He teaches English at Indiana University. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, and Danville, Kentucky.

Boss of the grassy green	p. 1
Did you ever have a nickname Boss	p. 3
The night is trotting toward me Boss	p. 4
What color is your collar Boss	p. 5
You’re the hay maker Boss	p. 7
Do you get happy Boss do you	p. 8
Do you have a table	p. 9
O Boss sometimes you take it all	p. 10
Are you ever sorry Boss ever	p. 11
You spread the nighttime Boss	p. 12
I told that old dog he	p. 13
Why Boss why do the days drift by	p. 14
Are you ever in my chest Boss	p. 15
If you had a feed sack Boss what	p. 16
How big is your hand Boss hold it up	p. 17
The light inside the shadow how	p. 18
I like the weaving bees I like	p. 19
There was a fox Boss in my dream	p. 20
You swirl the dirt like nobody’s business	p. 21
I’ve got butterflies Boss	p. 22
You make it all seem easy Boss	p. 23
Yes I’ve tried to hide my face	p. 24
Did you pull yourself up by your bootstraps Boss	p. 26
I’m sure you’ve got a sweet spot	p. 27
I guess you’ve got a lot	p. 28
You toss the stars like clover seed	p. 29
That bare branch that branch made black	p. 30
The two of us we’re cut	p. 31
Boss of the blue sky boss	p. 32
You move in every direction	p. 33
Did you teach the woodpecker how	p. 34
The birds the bugs even the trees Boss	p. 35
When you push the clouds so close together Boss	p. 36
The river looks so level Boss	p. 37
Is that you Boss is that	p. 38
Of course I like the sun	p. 40
Do you have a busy season Boss	p. 41
I’m happy Boss happy as a bird	p. 43
Did you boss the horse against the barn	p. 44
Is there another sky besides	p. 46
The field is flatter than	p. 48
Unless my nose is itchy Boss	p. 49
If I say I’ve sprung the spring in my step	p. 50
I wonder Boss in all	p. 51
Before my eye was burning like	p. 52
The way that buzzard hops it makes	p. 53
I put my face against	p. 54
When I chop wood you warm me twice	p. 55
O boss of ashes boss of dust	p. 56
I’ve got a picture of you Boss	p. 57
I got up early Boss the moon	p. 58
Your other favorite word	p. 59
I’m like an oak tree Boss O	p. 61
You windy blowhard Boss	p. 62
Do you put your trousers on one leg	p. 64
Are you against me Boss	p. 65
Say what have you got underneath	p. 66
Guess what Boss I’m not even	p. 67
When I see the shadow of the hawk	p. 68
Can I say whew to you now Boss	p. 69
You let out light to tease the shadows	p. 70
Listen Boss don’t think that I	p. 72
My hay day Boss is every day	p. 73
If I didn’t know you better Boss	p. 74
The first hawk you hung up in the sky	p. 76
You know that little song	p. 77
It doesn’t bother me Boss to have	p. 78
Is your barn stuffed to the roof beam	p. 79
Beyond the field this time	p. 80
Would you trade hee-haws with a crow	p. 82
Does an old dog toll beside you Boss	p. 84
You leave a little night inside	p. 86
Would you be lonesome if I swam	p. 87
We’ve always been like this	p. 89
You raise the hawk you hoist the crows	p. 90
Thank you for the leaf Boss	p. 92
Am I your helper Boss or am 93 I’ve got one thing to say to you	p. 94
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Iboss of the grassy greenboss of the silver puddlehow happy is my lotto tend the green to catchthe water when it rainsto do the doing Bossthe way the sun wakes upthe leaves they yawn a biteach day a little morefor a tiny reason thenwhen the leaves outgrow their greenthe wind unwinds them Bossthats the way you go aroundif you loose me like a leafif you unburden meif I untaste the tasteof being bossed by youdont boss me down to dustmay I become a flowerwhen my blossom Boss is fullboss a bee to my blue lipsthat one drop of my bloomwould softly drop intoyour sweetness once againif I go round that wayIll know the doing meansto you what it means to mea word before all wordsIIdid you ever have a nickname Bossa favorite color ever walk aroundin a circle for the fun of it do yousnap your fingers hold your breathdo you put things in your pocketdo you notch a stick for every sparrowis everything a little game to you Bossa little peekaboo a ring aroundthe rosy Boss we all fall down thatsthe funny part when it happensdo you keep a straight face or doyou laugh whats it like to always knowthe answer never have to guess whenyou rest do you ever fall asleepIIIthe night is trotting toward me Bossas if you tapped it with a switchor clicked your tongue against your teethits coming down the pasture soonIll hear the leather tackle squeakIll see your ankle swinging inthe stirrup Boss you ride the nightbut you dont need to hurry noyouve been this way a time or twobefore youve hauled your wagon fullof stars its all old hat for youyou get here when you get here OI guess you like the same old thingits funny but I like it tooI like it when you ride the nightacross the sky as if it werea nag a worn-out horse you dontmind riding O you get alongyour horse is made of silver Bossit clips like sleep it clops like youIVwhat color is your collar Bossis your backbone sore from bending overwhen you clap your hand against your thighdoes a little cloud of dust fly offdo you wipe your face with your shirttail BossId bet my wages that you dothough I couldnt say for sure how muchmy wages are theyre probablyenough O I get by all righta beech seed here a feather therea locust wing a wing as lightas air besides it lets light throughI get a double portion from youI tie my purse strings tight but putthis in your pocket all I haveId lay it on the table Bossfor you Id bet you jerk your linesyou hang your salty harness froma red nail in your barn you pouryour horse a scoop of oats you giveits tail a tug you say nighty nightyou spotted nag its funny BossI can hear you chuckle whenyou shut the stall youre happy fora good days work a spotted horseI wonder if that horses spots are realor painted on it makes me smileto think about it Boss evenfield hands need a laugh or twoa rusty riddle a twisty tongueI wouldnt put it past you Oyou sneaky devil you cutup BossVyoure the hay maker Bossyou light the c

Excerpted from Bucolics by Maurice Manning
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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Bucolics

Bucolics

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