Aunt Helen told me tales of dragonfly tricksters
who punished bad children as they slept at night
sewing shut wicked young eyes, ears, and mouths
to prevent from future lies and deceit
I feared princely pond dwellers until my tenth year
when transfixed by their grace & splendor,
trepidation morphed into admiration as I observed
them zipping across lawns & over water, maximizing
thrust, forewings & hindwings palpitating together
in synchronized strokes creating & shedding vortices.
Zigging and zagging in six directions:
backwards, forward, upwards, downwards,
a shapeshifting firedrake navigated
airspace left to right with & without wind;
The blue-eyed darner dragonfly hovered
above my head judging torso & terrain discerning
my nature before gliding down & landing on top
of my faux quill pen beating translucent membranes
like billows, sparking inspiration, dropping words
as magical as colorful, iridescent wings on paper.
Imagery, metaphor & meter emerged as I wrote
stitching poetic lines like the devil’s darning needle
darting across blank pages rhythmically, allegorically
like a spiritual bridge blessed by good luck & change.
Sterling Warner’s works appeared in many journals and magazines including THE RAVEN’S PERCH and VERSE-VIRTUAL. His collections include EDGES, SERPENT’S TOOTH, FLYTRAPS, CRACKS OF LIGHT, HALCYON DAYS, ABRAXAS: POEMS (2024), and MASQUES: FLASH FICTION & SHORT STORIES. Warner currently writes, hosts open mic readings, and enjoys retirement in Washington.
