Mudlark No. 46 (2012)

Caterpillars Along the American River Parkway

They cruised along through waves
               of sunlight,

like tubby longboats
               with many paddling feet.

Twelve vermilion suns
               peeked from their black

jointed decks.
               We walked

               “as the crow flies.”
We shadowed them

like trees.
               Our breathing drifted

like high, thin
               cirrus above them.

Later we saw dead ones
               flipped on their backs—

Every day, says Milarepa,
               we wake into our new life.

Susan Kelly-DeWitt | Coffee, Rain
Contents | Mudlark No. 46 (2012)