Issue Ten - October 2006

By Hummingbird Pond

by Ande Finley

Dragonfly leaves behind
        a random trail
               in the dense pause
               of an island afternoon,
spattering light through muddy reeds
        flickering
through the rising of several suns
and maybe a bit of moon
a scant few hours
        to hatch, mate, lay eggs
        fly with the erratic grace of her kind
        inhabit her fragile body, fully,
                for each allotted minute
                untethered to time
She touches down on a wild rose
        embracing
                hot dry soft wet
her world
a sensate celebration
        cool mist
           the solidity of leaf
              the snap of an amphibious jaw
              and its gift
              of oblivion.

©Ande Finley

Ande Finley is euphoric to see her life-long dream of writing full time manifesting here in her remote Lopez forest. Her English major in college morphed somehow into a professional life of crunching numbers and she guiltily filed her writing life away until all her kids had left home. Now, she mainly composes for herself, but her work has appeared in Uncapped, Satsang, and previously in SHARK REEF. With the help of her brilliantly-creative family, she produced her first chapbook, Simply Love, to commemorate her mother’s 75th birthday. She offers heartfelt thanks to her husband Scott for all the years of unwavering support.

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