Dog-Day Afternoon

It was so long ago now
I remember still
Marbles across the marbled floor
They were dragonflies’ eyes
Spitting blue fire

I had the conception of planets
I imbued my orbs with a child’s
Power. Full-bodied, in rows
They rolled in to each
Other. Wisely I bent intent -
Made them brilliant black holes
In the malt-light, moist silence
Of a dog-day noon

They melted the sun
Shifted the rays through their
Bodiless winged-worms’ eyes
So the floor, cooling, glowed with
The candy-litter incandescence
Of curly insect piths

A boy made a beginning
When marbles played
on marbled veins,
Spouting dragonflies -

I remember
But it was so long ago now
When the light was malt
And dappled with silence. |