Old Koi Pond
I dream of swimming
among Bekko koi, flashing
into orangebloom,
sunset brilliant scales
color blown like poppies
on the silk field of a kimono
or like quickflash red slipped
from a painter’s brush
surface-bound by logic
until the crimson blossoms
watery and I seek the place
of colors felt. Slippery,
cold and swift.
published in Philadelphia Stories