The desk lamps reflect on the mirror-still pool. It’s a clear night. Orion’s belt, the big and little dippers, and the other constellations I can’t name shine in the clear sky. The crickets and katydids carry on.

Mom sleeps it off inside. I stare at the pool, wondering what my post-college future holds.

ripple a shimmering light

first published in Image Curve, December 27, 2018

Photo by Ernest Brillo