IN PRAISE OF A BODARK FENCE

by Caleb Johnson

At civil twilight heat lingers
above the catfish ponds.
I don’t know the scientific name
for this phenomenon, but recognize
sunlight falling through oaks
along an old bodark fence,
piebald horses swishing flies
that go on buzzing into night.

Dad sits on the porch, waiting
on me to get in. Tomorrow he may die
under the knife. I may seek pardon
for a phrenic life. Attuned toward
evening light, its acclivitous angle
reflecting off the surface of a pond,
deadly glean of herons spearing fish.





Caleb Johnson is the author of the novels Telegraph Road (Hub City Press, Fall 2027) and Treeborne (Picador), which was named an honorable mention for the Southern Book Prize. His poetry has been published in Appalachian Journal, Birmingham Poetry Review, and is forthcoming elsewhere. His nonfiction appears widely in magazines and newspapers, and has been cited in The Best American Essays. Caleb teaches at Appalachian State University.