Respite

Of all the places to end up

I find myself here,

in this house with this yard.

 

My best years were given away

to someone whose name

I refuse to Google.

 

I consider hanging the flag

upside down but would rather

not make a thing of it.

 

Sunlight on the grass catches an insect

glittering like nail polish, a tiny

emerald roving and purposeful.

 

I photograph it

and the Internet informs me

it’s a six-spotted tiger beetle.

 

As soon as I learn what it is

its wings snap open

and I never see it again.

 

 

Dan Wiencek is a poet, critic, and humorist who lives in Minneapolis. His first collection of poems, Routes Between Raindrops, is available from First Matter Press.