Compline
by Alea Peister
Beneath a jacaranda and dusk’s powder-pink sky
I sit on a curb, watching a deserted street
flooded with purple blooms. A bee wanders by
roving from one flower to another. I spy
a second bee between blooms. The bees meet
beneath a jacaranda and dusk’s powder-pink sky.
A breeze steals through the tree. At its sigh
more flowers fall to cracked concrete
flooded with purple blooms. A bee tumbles by.
Everywhere they cast their tired bodies flowers fortify
the silent street, laying themselves in peace
beneath a jacaranda and dusk’s powder-pink sky.
I can’t conceive of what these bees believe they’ll find
among fallen flowers but they throng the fading heat
flooded with purple blooms. A bee ambles by.
The breeze reaches for me. I bow my head. I
rise to leave. I do not know what to want beneath
a jacaranda and dusk’s powder-pink sky
flooded with purple blooms. A bee wanders by.
Alea's writing has been featured in Whale Road Review, Relief, Ekstasis, The Curator, and Art for the Isolated. She lives among the palm trees, bustle, and sunshine just south of Los Angeles. You can follow her on Instagram at @alea_peister, and on Substack at aleapeister.substack.com.
