It had rained for days
jetties and breakwaters barely visible
Head down searching for sea glass
I found instead a pair of stained glass wings
caught in the wet sand
At first it seemed a mere carcass
but bending down I caught
the faint struggle
and pried him gently from his trap

The perfect feet clinging to my fingertips
in unexpected trust
stuck with me for the walk through the dunes
to a fuchsia tree or something like it
Nudging him to a twig
his antennae now mimicking
the stamens’ spright
I left him to live out his day
And I mine

Do you know about this
the way a thing that flies feels
the grasp of a June bug’s claw
Come go with me
to the dark windowed night
the popping screens
ecstatic with beetles
holding hands
salted in summer

At one time we rode bikes
behind the bug man
Found a bottle for a rocket
Red rover
Ate sour lemons on the stoop
Drank from an iron spigot
Picked off the red dot mites
just like that
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