Orion

 ( This is an old poem I wrote a very long time ago-- as I am enjoying each last night I can see Orion in the sky at this time of year I was reminded of it and thought I'd throw it out there. :)

Orion

a gray rock,

dragged from its mountain by some

ambitious landscaper to sit sentinel

amid the iceplant of our front yard,

where it could nightly experience

the indignity of a clambering barefoot child

posing for sunset on it.

my brother’s sweatshirt, jeans, an afghan

and bare feet wet from crushed iceplant,

i’d mount my boulder and pet the

molting eucalyptus at its side.

then, chin on knees-- pulled up, limb-locked,

hair spilling from its clip’s hard bite, and

my toes gripping the cool rock, i’d wait

for the pink to fade

from the edges of my picture;

and for bright tips of light to

prick me until Orion came out.

He would stop the bullying

right away and, bow drawn taut,

swear to shoot all dragons haunting

my cul-de-sac at night.

i thanked Him kindly,

made a wish on His belt,

and went inside,

never knowing the dragons He killed.