by Judith Cody

Everything has a bottom
physicists probably disagree
as science offers invisible
certainties that differ
from all that seems evident.

Understanding that a tree
cannot benefit from being
scratched a million times
even with the good of humans
as the goal is critical—knowing
this achieves transmutable action.

Sound tells us something
now and then it means everything.
“Why does the wire snap suddenly?”
Because we demand more and more
because the hand is quicker than steel
because wood fails even under
the weight of beauty.

Judith Cody’s poetry is published in over 100 journals, won national awards, is in the Smithsonian’s permanent collection; books include: the internationally noted biography of composer, Vivian Fine: A Bio-Bibliography, Eight Frames Eight, and Woman Magic. Cody was editor-in-chief of the first Resource Guide on Women in Music, she edited PEN Oakland’s anthology Fightin’ Words; a poem was selected by Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts to be featured in an special exhibit. www.judithcody.com