Momentary
I never glimpse her but she goes
Who had been basking in the sun,
Her links of chain mail one by one
A glint with pewter, bronze and rose.
I never see her lying coiled
Atop the garden step, or under
A dark leaf, unless I blunder
And by some motion she is foiled.
Too late I notice as she passes
Zither of chromatic scale —
I only ever see her tail
Quicksilver into tall grasses.
I know her only by her flowing,
By her glamour disappearing
Into shadow as I'm nearing —
I only recognize her going.
________________
A. E. Stallings
This Afterlife
Selected Poems
Farrar, 2022
