Dragonfly
For five lively years it exists as a nymph,
Reigning in the murderous rot of a pond,
A terror to tadpoles and minnows it consumes,
Fattening, quickening, gathering fuel,
To hatch to an old-fashioned aeroplane
With four gauzy wings
That can hover or spring
To attack in a six-fold directional swoop.
I watch one ace pilot in easy command
Cruising the latticed sun and shadow of his patch.
We both breathe the damp air of river and bank;
A rich interface filled with dainties.
His species more ancient than mine:
So skilled and dangerous his evolved control
In the brief iridescent passing
Flash of a million year old summer.
Clive Donovan devotes himself full-time to poetry and lives in the creative atmosphere of Totnes in Devon. He has had many poems published in poetry magazines including Agenda, Envoi, Salzburg Review, Ink Sweat and Tears and Pennine Platform.