I happened on a path unknown to me

where human voices muffle in the hulls

of boats drifting on the canal; built to connect

the ocean with the sea. My heart filled

with everything on the river’s edge:

the song of nightingale in the plane trees,

the cooing of two black swans, and the waving

of water flags along the shore. While I paused

to watch the swans exchange subtle glances,

a dragonfly appeared to my relaxing eyes;

her iridescent wings of Iridos recorded my dreams

and delivered them as rainbows to tiny spirits

on the other side, causing yellow blossoms

to burst into flares of greeting in the silent

language of Irises. I noticed the wings of dragonfly

are the coloured spectral circles of my eyes,

constant reminders that what I think reflects

on the water’s surface. As I surrendered to the rhythm

of their spirals, I followed the river beyond

ocean and sea and drank deeply.

Stephen Linsteadt

Copyright 2012