Afterimage

October
near the limit of trees
on the reflective
polished granite
skinned of soil
walking
blinking
by the resting meadow
a shooting violet
green stemmed twin
living delicately

Tying dreams
while choosing stones
for a garden
making a place to live
distracted
lying

the image
of a desire
vaporized
by the heat of summer
enveloped now
by the disintegrating
campfire

I hunt phosphenes
the sun downing quickly
like the wild azaleas re-closing
chilled
to the dusk
the fingers
of the palmate sun
trailing down my closed eyelid
going delicately
past the wilderness



--Avocet, 2000