In order to view this poem with the line breaks the author intended, we suggest reading it on a computer screen or in landscape orientation on your phone or tablet.

Clarity

This is what I want for my life—
the saxophonist’s clear pure notes
hovering over cobblestones
at Hornillias del Camino,
the last hour of light
backdropped by a mountain,
jagged and scarred with a cross on top.
He plays ‘“On the Street Where You Live,”
then plays “Misty.”
He holds no jar out for coins—
the sublime demands nothing from us
but that we receive it when it comes.

—
John Krumberger has published three full volumes of poetry and a prize-winning chapbook. He retired at the end of 2023 after a long career as a psychologist and psychotherapist. In addition to a PhD in psychology from the University of Minnesota, he received an MFA in Poetry from New England College.

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