Summer Pictures

By Melissa Kalinowski

A goldfinch erupts from a thistle colony,

clouds of silky down travel on the wind,

the lake disappears under a green spread

where bees sip sweetness from water lilies,

a heron lands in the richness;

without a lens the mind captures brightness,

to keep what is so alive, alive within—

as if images and words might endure

even as the fullness of summer fades.

© 2023 Melissa Kalinowski. All rights reserved.