Just Off the HIghway

There is a place

just off the highway

where dragonflies drop their eggs

into the pond, and hummingbirds

swarm the feeders that have, so far,

delivered 66 pounds of sugar to their frenzied tongues.

A family of quail venture out

to a patch of ground forsaken by squirrels,

and a hawk screams overhead.

Blue jays leap from hanging feeders and send them swinging,

while dove feathers, bone and sinew lie in nearby grass.

Shade of pine, cypress and madrone

promise the day will cool when evening comes

and stars light the night.

I will rest my head upon unfamiliar pillows

and dream of who knows what....