`Virginia`

My fingers slip and slide on the mossy

boulder overlooking ruddy water.

Downstream deep

impressions in thick red clay

show the path of deer that jumped barbwire

for a roomier cage.

Up I climb,

gripping cracks and bumps, using branches, roots,

and vines

to pull

myself

over

the edge.

I sit to watch

big blue beetles

zip and zoom through the trees,

bees mosey from daisy to pansy,

and a large monarch butterfly

settle for an instant on my knee.

-Ashley Rae Curran