The slowest acrobat slips into a pocket
of sunlight, unlocking the mystery
of Spring’s first breeze.

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Dusky slug | Arion subfuscus

A garden trespasser waits on a bed of sterile jewels,
filtering the strange results of mantid cryptography.

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Chinese Praying Mantis | Tenodera aridifolia sinensis

An ant unravels every petal, mapping
the trajectory of her elaborate universe.

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Pavement ant | Tetramorium caespitum

Conscious for half the day, a Honey bee
disappears in an unfinished dream of fire.

_____________________________________
Honey bee | Apis mellifera

Watching a daring suitor’s aerial maneuvers,
a firefly anticipates tomfoolery in the afterglow.

_____________________________________
Firefly | Photinus pyralis

A day old siren invents a new world
where gamboling beasts devour each another,
a playground on the head of a pin.

_____________________________________
Chinese Praying Mantis | Tenodera aridifolia sinensis

Lost in the Vegas of the garden, she wanders
through neon lights and deep shadows,
ready to defend gravity.

_____________________________________
Eastern black carpenter ant | Camponotus pennsylvanicus

A millipede punches a complicated path
through tangled leaves, stitching together
sleeping memories.

_____________________________________
Millipede | Order: Julida

A honey bee breaks through shadows
thick enough to choke the dawn,
fracturing the landscape of a garden.

_____________________________________
Honey bee | Apis mellifera

Entangled beetles mate in a fog of lust,
soldiers on leave consumed in golden fire.

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Soldier beetle | Cantharidae