the blackfly ball

Machias it’s mythical
upstairs in the Grange
the Orange River Jazz Band
watching one couple dance
unbelievably elegant light and entrancing
watching one of the bees distribute fresh flowers
a storybook figure looking grubby and hard-ass
while also ethereally beautiful
tattoos of endangered animals
circling her limbs and her torso
utterly graceful and dedicated
in love with the Beehive Collective