i.
A pre-dawn flight of common clouds
Serene as Degas ballerinas reposed,
Lingered opaque but faint. Hovering auras
Of non-threatening sky marooned and distant.
ii.
As glimpsed, a November post script,
Back drop to the zigzag silhouette
Of the snow-capped Buffalo Peaks
East of the Arkansas River ... now shallow, tame;
iii.
Winding crystal cold down the valley
To exit, in contrast to its
Late spring persona,
Victim of melt and torrent.
iv.
Sipping my first cup of coffee, I skimmed
The latest news in the Chaffee County Times.
Above an ad atop page 3
The kitchen window showed signs.
v.
Each lofty underside, cloud-by-cloud,
Feigning sparks began their glow.
Flaunting gilded shimmers of bamboo,
Gamboge and other warm Crayola hues.
vi.
Facing the brunt of a posturing sun
Set to rush the landscape
And define every rock, ridge, leaf, shingle,
Field, pine and cone in a blink,
vii.
Caissons of vapor, refracted light cast from afar
Painstakingly detonated their ephemeral blush
The color of a flamingo flock
Trimmed in grand Confederate drab.
viii.
Another cup of coffee made ready
As the planet Venus paled,
Deferential to the break of daylight
Eviscerating the pitch of night.
ix.
Fated to resume their uncharted trek
On board ribbons of invisible, changeable wind,
Blanched cinders, spent and frowzy,
Dispersed up on blue.
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