Too often lately,
on my nightly
walk I make out
a form half in
shadow down
the block.
I’m sure that
she or he waits
on their dog,
but closer it’s
the work of
dark and fog.
More clearly
now it appears
to me, certainty
is most certainly
not nearly as certain
as it used to be.

Gerald Wagoner grew up in the Northwest. He became a sculptor, then moved east to study. He has resided in Brooklyn, NY since 1982. Taught Art and English for the NYC Department of Education—1988 to 2017. 2018: Visiting Poet Residency: Brooklyn Navy Yard. 2021: Curated/hosted: A Persistence of Cormorants, reading series. Publications: Ocotillo Review, BigCityLit, The Lake, J-Journal, Blue Mountain Review, Maryland Literary Review, BA Writing U of Montana, MFA Sculpture, SUNY Albany, NY.