Blanching

for Alli Warren



After a while the ants start getting bigger.

The ones that move faster have some kind of whiteness

around their bodies, like wings or the skin

of an egg. Occasionally I have an

itch somewhere and I look expecting

to see something crawling along it.



We always go spelunking on the same side of the street.

We are looking down at the ground in the hope

that we won't see anything, but suddenly there's

a slab of new concrete, or a flattened

irregular disc that might have been alive.

Or even what looks like a bird's wing, shed

or severed, with a moistened bit of flesh

still attached. No, wait, that actually happened.



It's still possible to steer with one hand,

but I wouldn't advise it. This is a large

community of trees and automobiles,

and you really should know your way around

before you go walking where you aren't wanted.