His laughter, his reprieve is an interval
in between a tinted field,
lying flat beneath dry stalks
of desperate color,
burnt umber and piney
green. He imagines a Japanese
pond, the fragrance of yellow
water lilies and retiring beneath them,
in the shelter of the shade.
Submerged underwater,
amidst a choir of Koi fish,
huddled under the dangling
roots, crumbly and loose
as worn rope.
He imagines
one by one they would
part away, swimming towards
the glittering frost
beyond the blue green.
From your perspective you can see
a slight swish, a slight thrust as their
heads peak above,
the opening of
their mouth, to take
in a gulp of the sun.
Below he thinks
This place is like Eden.
Eden, incandescent.