Observed from My Porch in Russell, Pennsylvania
a lone firefly floats through
my neighbor's yard across
the road
sends out his glowing green beacon of hope
hope for a response in kind
a simple signal fire in solidarity
a sign that he's not alone
he flutters beyond my sight
his insistent luminance
grows faint in the distance
a choir of frogs from the creek
nearby serenade the night
harmonizing by instinct
as the pulse of distant
dying or dead suns keep time
the syncopation of the sky
music of the night
song of the eternal
indistinct music plays from my neighbor's radio
white noise to aid in peaceful
sleep
or just to mask the true music
until her window air conditioner
gurgles to life drowning out even
her songs to block the nightly strife
cats of every stripe or none
slide silently from the shadows
nature's assassins gathering
in a nightly convention
at a point in the middle of the street
the significance of the place
and gravity of their conclave
lost on me the only human observer
they come one by one
from all directions
one lays in center paws forward
twitches their tail as if to signal
the appointed time
the rest join one at a time
lounging, glancing at each other
one looks in my direction
a silhouette with tiny, twin singularities for eyes
tales stop switching
in unison they all turn silently
regard me for a time stop eternity
assessing my threat maybe
ultimately turn back to each other
continue their incomprehensible
discourse
I feel intrusive
get up to go inside
the cat coven adjourns silently scatter back into safe shadows
except one
who first took note of me
they stand as a rear guard watching until the rest
are away
then my observer disappears
as well
Jared Strickland is a small town boy, US Air Force veteran, IT guy and computer applications instructor who has a passion for writing and poetry. He hesitates to call himself a poet but other people do so he goes with it.