The James Hearst Digital Archive

Home » Poetry » Between Neighbors

Between Neighbors

Text of Poem

A raw nerve jumped in our
neighborhood when your dog
upset my garbage can three days
in a row and I shot at him with
my BB gun to scare him away.
Red face, loud voice, slammed door
probed the ache and locked your
‘‘Good day’’ behind
tight lips.
Now I sit in the sun on my
back porch and watch my thoughts
dig up your garden.

First Line
A raw nerve jumped in our
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1970
Original Citation
Wisconsin Review 6 (Fall 1970) 21.
Complete Poems
223
Word Count
67
Poetic Form
open
Themes