James Bell returned to poetry after a twenty year hiatus and has been making up for lost time in the last dozen years. He was born in Scotland, and has lived in Devon, England for many years. A chapbook, the just vanished place, appeared in 2008 and will be followed by a forthcoming full collection in 2010 entitled fishing for beginners.
Fall 2009
Table of Contents - Vol. V, No. 3
James Bell
the birds are trying to tell us
was all I heard
avoided and walked past the man
who told me
pointed to the river as he spoke---
water out with the tide
flat and glacial
only geese and gulls
disturbed its surface
washed wings
paddled about
an occasional arrival and departure
you wanted to ask him what
they were trying to tell us
whether he was aware of
something we all needed to know
a foreboding
a prophecy
but you never did
© James Bell
