Villanelle

by Roger W. Hecht

The sun sinks past the great beyond,
or at least beyond the horizon,
& sets aflame the skin of Jenning's Pond,

a red & molten blue reflection
stirred only by the misstep of a heron.
The sun sinks, & beyond

deep in the trees, young
coyotes hunker till their midnight song
sets aflame the skin of Jenning's Pond

& tears my ears toward that direction
our cat unwittingly wandered
into teeth & terror and the great beyond

that summer night. Their meal our grief, and so on.
The trees turned their heads; now their leaves turn on
& set aflame the skin of Jenning's Pond,

a red & yellow & rust pointillist explosion
that draws us to the jaws of their oblivion—
our joy & delight till the sun sinks. The great beyond.
& all aflame the skin of Jenning's Pond.

Roger W. Hecht’s work has appeared recently in A-Minor, Diaphanous, Sheila-Na-Gig, Poetry WTF?!, and Yes Poetry. His first collection, Taking Pictures, was published by Cervena Barva Press. He is an Associate Professor of English at SUNY Oneonta.