Look for small things,
a nail, a pebble, a drop of rain,
a snowflake, even after it has melted

Put them in a collage,
an intricate arrangement
with subtle colors, barely
discernable texture

Hang it up
It may need to dry
for several centuries
cured by weather

Take it out again
and view it with great
admiration
Add a sound track

You may or may not
get an audience
If not, show it in sunlight
Let it gradually fade
then start over

/

Alice Pero is the 10th Poet Laureate of Sunland/Tujunga, CA. She is widely published in journals & anthologies including Spillway, Main Street Rag, G.W. Review, Wide Awake & Coiled Serpent. Her first poetry book, “Thawed Stars” was praised by the late Kenneth Koch as having “clarity” & “surprises.” A former New Yorker, she makes her home next to a desert wash and tries to make friends with the nearby mountains.