POEM

Sharks' Teeth

by Kay Ryan

Kay Ryan
Everything contains some   
silence. Noise gets
its zest from the
small shark's-tooth
shaped fragments
of rest angled
in it. An hour   
of city holds maybe   
a minute of these   
remnants of a time   
when silence reigned,   
compact and dangerous   
as a shark. Sometimes   
a bit of a tail   
or fin can still   
be sensed in parks.

This poem originally appeared in the April 2004 issue of Poetry.

April 2004 issue of Poetry Magazine

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 Kay  Ryan

Born in California in 1945, Kay Ryan is the author of several books of poetry, including . . . MORE »

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