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The Night Shift

Don’t know 
that I ever looked
forward to sunrise—
days just seem to come 
and go, like desert flowers 
and dust-devils, tumbleweeds 
ripped from their arid rest:

safe in my shared crevice
with other baked eyes
I watch the spiraling tails
trying to escape the heat 
(a monolithic trance)

snakes, scorpions 
and myself
we keep an armistice
not to hunt one another
till walking, slithering, 
crawling, back into 
the night….

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Connie Marcum Wong Date: 1/11/2020 12:12:00 PM I have never been bitten by a scorpion but I have been bitten by a centipede and stung by jellyfish. Both are really painful so I can imagine. My daughter was with me and got stung by jellyfish too. She screamed and cried all the way home. She was about 8. There were no warnings posted. I could visualize the scene by your wonderful imagery Joe. New year blessing. xxoo (we have scorpions here too) Login to Reply Joe Dimino Date: 1/11/2020 2:47:00 PM Hi Connie; everything in the desert bites. Comes with the territory I guess. Those Jelly Fish Stings and some centipedes can be real nasty injuries I understand. Thank you for stopping by. Have a beautiful day!!

Kai Michael Neumann Date: 1/3/2020 4:31:00 AM Happy New Year and too many shifts. Kind wishes, Kai Login to Reply Joe Dimino Date: 1/3/2020 5:02:00 AM Hi Kal; wishing you less shifts and more wealth. Blessings my friend...and a very Happy New Year!

Lindsay Laurie Date: 1/1/2020 5:14:00 PM G'day Joe … be careful walking around barefooted at night. It's all about survival in a world of hunters and the hunted - nicely penned Joe - Lindsay Login to Reply Joe Dimino Date: 1/1/2020 9:05:00 PM The one that got me, I picked up an old painting in a thrift store--must have come from someone's shed. Ouch!

Caren Krutsinger Date: 12/31/2019 11:56:00 PM I like this armistice Joe. Login to Reply Joe Dimino Date: 1/1/2020 11:04:00 AM Thank you, Caren; for sure, peace is preferable in all situations. Having been bitten, scorpions hurt like hell, and leave the bite-area numb for about two weeks. But, a reasonably healthy person has no lasting ill effects. At least with the Arizona scorpions. Don't know about elsewhere...and don't really want to find out.

Silent One Date: 12/26/2019 9:21:00 AM damn, i used to do night shifts... we see a completely different world, dont we... glad i dont do it anymore.. Login to Reply Joe Dimino Date: 12/26/2019 9:58:00 AM "The Music of The Night"! I did it for many years, was the only agent on duty, at the airport, in a cargo facility. One does develop a darker, colder sense of life. But on the positive side, the acoustics were great for singing, a huge echo chamber in a sense, and no one there to tell me to shut up. Thank you, Si; wishing you and Yours a very Happy New Year!