Damselflies
Created | Updated Feb 17, 2017
I almost overlooked the stream:
a glint of water under alders.
A sudden dash though sunshine
a flash of iridescent blue.
Damselflies chase and trail
loops of light from bank to bank.
Their tracery of wings intricate
as stained glass windows. Their eyes
black and round as berries, watch
the random rise and fall of gnats
with multi-faceted precision,
but even in lapis lazuli, plated
joints reveal a prehistoric past.
We’re fooled by their ephemeral beauty.
Shadow wings in rocks confirm
their type went hunting among cycads.
Do they feel an echo of their past
a time when dragonflies were lords?
