dragonfly

shy lady skimmer
twelve black spots and delicate wings
paned intricate as cathedral windows
rests in a garden throbbing with lusty bees, beetles
hummingbirds queued up for a sniff lick taste
the market rich, filled to satisfy ravenous mouths ready
to devour a variety of sweet buds and succulent mosquitos.

you lift off circle 'round
forward-backward-sideways-up-down
you hover aware, your world topsy-turvy
startled by movement your fine wings
deliver you across the green spaces of your short life
abbreviated flights looking at an expanse of days and weeks
laugh out loud, fly dragon—question the wisdom men lay down—
all that years in the making but making no difference
in each tomorrow none of it matters does it?

no, none of this will matter in a month
in days you will be gone and your children
will carry on here in the land
where phlox and lilies bloom
where living things eat, mate, pass on their genes—
costly, rare, in demand—humanity will fight wars
devour each other over this freedom this gluttony
but we, you and i, will fly away
and hungrily grasp what really matters.
it was a remarkable life.