New Pastoralisms
Dust devils in the vineyard
stings the grapes, friction under flare,
burning with abrasions in seconds
an entire season’s sweetness.
Elder vintner works the plants
to work his hands, maintain concentration,
without fear of drought or neurotically irrigating
a doomed vintage meant for nostalgia, alone,
paired with nothing more than sunset.
Prematurely wilted grapes form a symmetry
with late-onset bursitis. Both bursas
fatigue under cloudlessness,
agitate with local fever.
First incomplete bunches, maybe next year
fewer bushels? Or more irrigation,
become a destination, replace rural with rentier,
online menus and grape leaf sarma.
Flights, Issue Nine, June 2023
Flight of the dragonfly 