diving at dusk

pool depth: 4 feet
black hibiscus scent

encircles cool water—
a glorious thing

we float adjacent
to an aluminum ladder

while silver-haired bats
swoop above

the waterline
our two naked bodies

shielded
by the quickening

darkness
naughty neighbors, we

hawking our wares
beneath a gargantuan moon

back to issue

Julie Allyn Johnson is a sawyer's daughter from the American Midwest whose current obsession is tackling the rough and tumble sport of quilting and the accumulation of fabric. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her poetry can be found in Star*Line, The Briar Cliff Review, Phantom Kangaroo, Haven Speculative, Penumbric Speculative Fiction, Coffin Bell, The Lake, Chestnut Review and other journals.