when the mimosas close

a poem

Ashlan Isadore McHugh

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Dogs have otherworldly hearing
Mine heard the mimosas close after midnight
and woke me in anticipation
of pawing the dew poised on grass blades

Through the door to their fenced freedom
beyond the solitary bulb glow
pooled over the back stoop
they slipped into the new moon pitch

I drooped against the frame
blanket-swathed and bare-legged
waited as one of the night drowsers
and fell back into my…

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