As I Was Laying Down Mulch in June Last Year

by KEVIN RISNER

a lone firefly hovered as mulch
surrounded lavender, allium, and spiderwort
in my front yard flower bed two weeks before
the summer solstice, and I was ecstatic about
the newcomer, a rarity around here now

the rest of the neighborhood’s been torn asunder
the undergrowth during a warm week in early March
all of it gone and mulch mounds in its place

(because no snow ever fell in Ohio after that)

with sarcasm dripping from my thoughts
I sat and wondered where the rest of the insects were
oh I may see more
there’s still so much more
time left before things get cold again

bleak gray as endless as forever

I’m told there’s at least something else to look forward to
even after the worst of the cold and the dark has passed