flitting between the false strawberries

& the tall grass by the creek, i see it:

iridescent body, striking black wings,

not animal enough to fear my approach,

my bending to take a picture, the striking colors stunning

in a different way on my screen than they are in person

 

the puppy is leashed, trapped in a small radius

& eventually she notices my noticing, runs

to follow my lead & begins a happy chase,

tracking the dark-winged insect

with a carefree leap, so different from her manic dash

whenever she spies some unsuspecting bird

 

i look it up later & find it is called an ebony jewelwing,

Calopteryx maculata, a species of broad-winged damselfly

—i was right to think it not a dragonfly—

& marvel at the names we give beautiful things,

the ways they both succeed & fail

to illustrate what they name

 

the jewels are on its body—look it up,

or better yet, go down to some shady spot

near a slow-moving creek & take a companion

as curious about the world as you long to be

 

there is something quiet waiting there