Rainbow Falls 3

Basic Maneuvers

Night falls.
The air is sticky
infused with white Gardenia, pungent Stephanotis.
A fountain sprays into a Koi pond, echoing across the valley.
In the distance houses hum, windows glow
as families settle into their nightly routine.

At the appointed hour
a poisonous toad Army advances
each to their predetermined post.
Thousands hop down roads, linger beneath street lamps
some are sacrificed
beneath a passing automobile tire.

Others silently lurk inside the hollow of a palm
hundreds more beneath the bug light by the well
their hungry eyes focused, tongues trigger ready.
Toad commanders direct their approval at the snap and the sizzle
of the Formosan termite swarm drawn to the light,
the Army peering skyward as roasted bodies free-fall, unfettered wings
drift aimlessly down around them.

The kamikaze swarm
continue to buzz the light in reckless abandon.
A few forestall their dinner dates
by crawling behind downspouts and into rocky crevices
while a scout is randomly brushed
by the feet of a foreign genus
rushing inside to escape the carnage,
the rank and lusty feeding
of the hoard.

Black Creek Preserve- A Scenic Hudson Park

Black Creek is a mixture of woods and wetlands conserved by Scenic Hudson and the John Burroughs Nature Sanctuary.  It is a popular destination for bird watching, fishing and paddling.

The property lies within the Plutarch/Black Creek Wetlands Complex in Esopus, New York and is a prime area for breeding and migrating waterfowl.  Safeguarded wetlands trap run-off and remove pollutants before they reach drinking-water supplies. They also mitigate ecological and property damage from sea-level rises and storm surges under predicted climate-change scenarios.

Black Creek is a  part of Scenic Hudson's collaborative campaign to Save the Land That Matters Most, protecting 65,000 acres.

Sweet Deal

Bread and butter jam

honey into buzzing guest

sweetening the pot.

Spent

 

The road

bulges gray, cynical and dusty.

Spent by sugary

cake eating denizens

spreading the good news.

 

By archaic beliefs

spinning

pious cloth.

(Remember to wash before wearing.)

 

By hell-fire fans

down at the local Dollar store

discounting

derelict pennies

who  roar once more

over the obsolete

Five and Dime.

Embracing My Winter: inspired by, Winter Practice by Jean Gallagher from her book, START

Embracing the Dark

I extend my arms from horizontal

embrace the dark spaces

trace its kiss

It stretches me

pulls me deeper

into its hollow

beyond the now

beyond this solitude.

The Quest

I ask

You answer

The mysteries hover

We slip in and out

of the dark.

Fact checking

googling, getting scroogled

remembering

forgetting

posing as scientists

mining beliefs

digging up dead cultures

amidst the ruins

amidst our ruining temples

playing our parts

playing

with the gods.

© Cornelia DeDona 12-13-13