Perch

Sharp orange needle
floats
pierces ripples
anticipation clinging
like the prickly feet
of bluebottle flies.

The old lady bows her neck
bones creak
and drip
matted leaves
from wisps of hairy twigs.

I am fused to the bank
slicing daisy necks with
a thumbnail
threading them with
earthy knots

childhood blurring appreciation
for the moss-bitten coat
and the spectacles
fixed on the float
fixed on the water.

A glass-nosed terrier
pauses to sniff at his sleeve
turning curly maggots
into fossils
with padded feet.

He gets a scratch behind the ears.

Glancing back
there is only blue green

and the heads of daisies.