"...everything gradual we notice

at once: the service dog’s bark,
the fire flower’s silver burst & contrails
conspiring against dusk. How must

the water moccasins watch

the gorillas sleep in their makeshift
jungles, the boy splash
on the makeshift beach, the alligator

reach for his knees..."

                      --from "Nighttime Spectacular" 
​                         as published in Pleiades 38.1
Image: "Dragonfly Barrette" by David Frankulin