Paddling with Dragonflies
Who is this restless couple
this twisted pair, this light
iridescent heart
contorted abdomens
unwed confliction of wings
and short antennae,
their pulsing cadences
trying to straighten out
that which cannot be
straightened out,
but scorched instead
by the hard and the hot
deck of my old friend’s
kayak, before she lifts them
with the cool blade of her
paddle and lowers them
down to the lily pad—lit,
to float in their room
not taken?
by John Fritzell
Editor’s note: A single sentence of short lines makes up the entirety of this poem, reflecting the shape of the kayak with short bursts of imagery. The delightful small nod to Frost at the end seats this poem firmly in the realm of nature verse.
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