Justice

lives in the corner house whose mustard-peeling
paint suspends a garden rake and spade. A lace-curtained

window sets off another, dark-paisleyed.
And a bike leaning against the maple counterbalances

the swing that hangs from a branch. Most of the time
the yard is quiet--as if no one lives in the corner

house. But sometimes the swing sways with the voice
of a child, and sometimes Justice sits on her porch.

Locally, Kathy Banas' poetry is published or upcoming in Bellowing Ark, Northwest Poet's and Artist's Calendar, Paper Boat, and Raven Chronicles. She lives and tutors math in Seattle.