Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Bruce McBirneyJune 17, 2002
A brownish-yellow V-shaped blur,
With spidery strings unfolding to each side,
Floats slowly past my field of view,
Then bounces, dances, when I turn my eyes
To left or right, or up or down.
A floater, says the doctor. No big deal.
A spot of gel inside the eye
Has loosened from the retina and pulled
Away, but throws a shadow there.
It likely won’t get worse. He winks and smiles.
But if it does, you’ll know. It flares
Like fireworks, or else drops a curtain down.

A tiny imperfection to remind
One that the world is graced with flaws,
But also meant, perhaps, to give one pause.

My yellow blind spot floats and jerks up high
Before the lovely, red-swirled sunset sky,
And teases that it may
One day hold total sway.

So too an angry jeer,
Or just a word
That cuts too often and too near,
Is quickly said, but deeply heard,
And has the power
To sear and to erase
Within an hour
A love you gave up half your life to chase.

The Editors of America are pleased to present the 2002 Foley Poetry Award, given in honor of William T. Foley, M.D.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV urged new archbishops to help him foster unity in a church rich in diversity. Eight of those new archbishops are from the United States, and they spoke to Catholic News Service about how they can help promote fraternity in today’s polarized world.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White about his new book, ‘Pope Leo XVI: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.’
JesuiticalJune 30, 2025
Kerry Weber, incoming president of the Catholic Media Association, and executive editor of America Magazine, speaks June 26, 2025, during the Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she was elected president,
Grace LenahanJune 30, 2025
"The whole church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope," he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.