yard dragonsMy world
has blue dragons
in the north
orange sherbet-colored dragons
in the south
dragons with long eyelashes
that smell of rain
in the east
and dragons
with sparkling tails
and charming overbites
in the west

Only people
who’ve been here
a long time –
long enough to break open
love deeply –
can see them and
sometimes strangers
even lean
against them
thinking they are streetlamps
or hedges
or sit on them
thinking they are
bus stop benches

I learned
that there are also
tiny purple dragonettes
in the woods
on the island
we just moved to
I saw a picture of one
in a shop
and read their story
in happy hurry

I haven’t seen a dragonette
in person yet
we’ve only been here a month
so maybe they haven’t seen enough evidence
of deep love yet
I’m working on that
and when it gets warmer
I’m going to walk into the woods
sit in a sun beam
and recount our story
so they know
I’m not a stranger here
I lived here long ago
even before they came
and am just returning
so they can stop
disguising themselves
as robins now
if they’d like
stop getting chased
off the path
by our dog