[PONDWATER UNDER MICROSCOPE]

Even in the drop of water / something, someone living, swimming.

There was a lot alive in your water, little things swimming: paddlers, amoeba, jellyfish-like things, and dragons.

Not quite / a swarm, but / everywhere– / swimming into / the microscope’s light / in blips, in jumps– / the rotifers, like / shrimp, like ships.

There is a wisdom / in little things: / how they move / almost without thought / through water, paddle / hand over hand and glide, as if / they swim air.

Past Poet Laureate of Kansas (2017-2019) Kevin Rabas teaches at Emporia State University, where he serves as core Creative Writing Program faculty. He has sixteen books, including Lisa’s Flying Electric Piano, a Kansas Notable Book and Nelson Poetry Book Award winner. He is the recipient of the Emporia State President’s and Liberal Arts & Sciences Awards for Research and Creativity, and he is the winner of the Langston Hughes Award for Poetry.