The afternoon had longed at the inlet,

oysters raw and grilled, green and white,

pulled from the same water lapping

at our feet, the feel between our toes

 

the same as on our tongues.

The raccoons had made a mess of things

in the night, as they often do,

outwitting the trashcans built to foil them.

 

They built crosses with torn up cardboard

and left them like a runway into an overgrowth

opposite the soft, wet sun. A party clanged

behind us, but we were on to something.

 

In the dark, we bled without feeling it,

gripped by the animals and their chatter.

We flew like two herons from the cattails,

held in their song, floating, sleeping.

Photo by Dean Pasch