I stared too long into the
white hot heat of summer.
The locust rose up from
the ground in loud
clambering hoards; nights
thick and succulent filled
with fireflies and
whippoorwill calls,
and I stared.
I stared as the forest
leaved out in a rush to
its green fruitful glory,
and as mushrooms
peaked from the leaf litter,
as heat soaked the days
and drew them out to last
well past bedtime,
as rat snakes wove
their bodies around
the fence posts and
sunlight only came through
the hollow in great golden
flecks – I stared.
I stared in wonder at the
resilience of life, at its
persistent need to
survive.
And I stared as it all
faded – gone in one
deep breath of a dozer.
And I stood lost.