R u m m y   P a r k

b y   R e b e c c a   L u   K i e r n a n


16.   Big Sky

The flame in lily leaf and willow heart,
The color of alien eyes in abduction dreams,
So burgundy, it seems
Fall will never return,
Nothing terrestrial left to burn.
 
The cicadas, grasshoppers
Trilling in chorus,
Starlings twitching in balding branches
Red-ribboned telescopes for sale in the stores,
Winter sneaking up on muscular haunches.
 
The grey cat storms through,
Silent witness to strange miracles.
He lives beneath Big Sky Barbecue.
Tourists feed him as they get on the bus.
 
He follows our bikes through crop circles.
He knows winter
Isn't coming to us.