APPEARANCE

It was just another day.

The heat was as thick as

the cloud of dust my car

kicked up on the dirt road

to my friend’s house,

an oasis of order on the

Peace River tucked into

the dark Florida jungle.

Sylvia’s house was new

with silver-green Pecky Cypress

and a perfect lawn cut from the

hundred foot forest on both sides

as if by a knife. An emerald in

the chaos.

We sat on the veranda

and talked quietly while

condensation sparkled

down our cold glasses

of pink lemonade.

The coffee-colored water

of the Peace slipped

past the crisp edge of

manicured lawn and

cut a window into

the sinuous vines dripping

from the Stygian forest to

reveal a mysterious world

of dark birds, heavy reptiles,

and jeweled insects.

She stepped through the glass

door to answer her phone,

so a cool breath of air brushed

smooth across my face, and

missed it all...

Off to the left, a movement

caught the corner of my eye.

Some of the darkness took

shape and slid from the gold

leaves and meandering detritis

on the high tension surface of

the river. A black head, the size

and shape of my hand rose like

some spirit from the depths,

and glistened indigo in the sun.

She ascended the edge of the

grass followed by a long rope as big

as my upper arm. From two feet

above the St. Augustine grass, she

turned an accusing, matriarchal

gaze at this clean scar

on the chaos she ruled.

Then, believing us only temporary,

outlandish invaders she measured

the length of space I could see with

all her thirty feet before returning

to that wet empire where she reigns

supreme.

Sylvia returned with fresh drink

and another cool breeze. but

I could not speak of what I

had seen, for something in her

eyes said she would not believe.

From my research into the size of

Black Racers and Indigo snakes

I hardly believe it myself, but I

know what I saw.

Copyright

Vol Lindsey

2014

Reviews

[W. Barrett Munn]

I enjoyed this ride. Felt like a roller coaster made of half Robert Frost and half Carl Sandburg.

Winston

[Vol]

Well, Dang! High praise, indeed! Thank you.

[Chris]

Smiles... yep, been THERE a time or three. Least you had chilled Pink Lemonade, beats having canteen water for such visions any day of the week .

[Vol]

It was a very strange couple of hours near Arcadia, Florida. The dirt road ran next to some RR tracks and I had to slow as a tall, scrawny bobcat left the jungle and crossed slowly in front of me and into the brush below the tracks. I let the car creep along to where I saw it enter the bushes and ilay there, old, tired, and panting. I could see it needed prey, and soon, but looked as though it was maybe just giving up the hunt. This happened almost forty years ago, and I still marvel at the contrast of that perfectly manicured lawn, the crisp right angles of a newly built house, and the smooth, clean concrete of the driveway, was so stark in the chaos of that wild, dark jungle. I know it has all been destroyed by now, and is just one more Florida subdivision.

[AYVID N]

Wow...Something so stunning seen when least expected. Blown away, is the word. This was a truly delightful poem to read!

[Vol]

I have found that catching those little recurring memories that seem to haunt the moments just before sleep, or when our minds wander on a long, lonely drive, return to us for a reason.

[AYVID N]

Yes, its the cosmos telling us something.

[Lorry]

I was about to start my review with how idyllic a setting and how I wished I was there, but I'll just stick to adding another layer of clothes and put up with the cold, as it got a little too scary Biscuits there for me.
Maybe it's because I'm in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees, which had been creaking under the snow but are now going double time thanks to today's quite rapid thaw.
I'm not scared (honest), I guess you just had to be here to hear how this was much like a spooky campfire tale 😊

***Not part of review but... Site has been acting up and won't let me post or even change the "what's on your mind" bit.
So just to let people know if I seem a bit quiet, I'm still here and will keep reviewing until that packs in too. 😊

[Vol]

Now I wonder about you, Lorry! Where are you? Living in the middle of nowhere usually means being surrounded by nature rather than people, and nature is full of creepy crawlies... snakes are everywhere but Ireland, and antarctica. It sounds like you are in the California mountains what with all the snow out there and now the thaw...

[Lorry]

Scotland. Not too many snakes, but we have our tormenters... The dreaded midge 😊

[Vol]

"What do they eat when they can't get Hobbit?" Scotland! My roots are there, the family castle Edzel I need to visit some day.

[Lorry]

Haggis, but don't worry. Veggie haggis is good too and lots of other dishes with weird names likekullin skiing and roastit bubbly jocks.
Saying that though, I just had a one pot roast for dinner. Roast beef, New potatoes and veg all cooked in gravy in the one pot. Fantastic.
😊

[Vol]

Sounds fabulous, and not terribly different from my dinner today... Corned Beef cooked in Guinness with orange marmalade, Cabbage, potatoes , and carrots... Im not Irish, but any excuse to have one more pint.

[Zola Reve]

This would be great short story along the lines of psychological, mystery, and maybe even a slice of life. I see that you were presenting a nostalgic feel and setting to let the audience use their imagination in a playful and yet closed manner. I love it but there was something missing in the midst of your scene. Something that would give more of a closer introspection of the main character. Either way I loved it.

[Vol]

A lot of my poems are short stories.