(Click here to follow Pavel's ongoing epic poem “The Shoulder of the Sun.” You may visit Pavel's website at http://www.greyowlpress.com.)
by Pavel Chichikov
A small green meadow floating on water
Dragonfly wings that feather their oars,
Harlequin props that wave – there are four –
The delicate lashes of green-eyed summer
A yelp from a frog – it breaks through the skin
Of the alga-light-green covering –
Chestnut craters vanish as soon
As algae float in and heal the wounds
Bent reeds bow at the famished fish
Who nibble the bottom of this green dish –
Mosquito larvae, goggled-eyed imps
Bubble their microscopic lips
Rich are the curved and supple reeds
Who bobble the edges where they feed
On nitrogen mud their slim address,
Till nightfall calms these restless rest
Green-eyed summer leans against fall
Who loves but ends this green pastoral
