we kissed in the chaotic dusk,

air clotted with throaty incantations -

cicadas congregating in trees,

crickets chanting from the underbrush.

we’d whisper beneath the beetle black sky,

scratching mosquito bites until they’d scab & scar.

you promised me monarchs meandering among the monarda,

bumblebees glut with nectar, pollen-laden legs

slumbering in squash blossoms.

our love became fireflies locked in a jam jar,

blinking distress signals into the doomed night,

belly up by dawn. i pin your thorax

to a polystyrene board, study what went wrong.

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Kate Gargo is a writer from Appleton, Wisconsin. She has a bachelor’s degree in English – Creative Writing and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and a master’s degree in Professional Poetry Writing from the University of Denver. Kate received honorable mention in the Association of Writers’ 2022 Intro Journals project and has been published in Mulberry Literary, FERAL: A Journal of Poetry and Art, and Tabula Rasa Review. Kate is an avid fan of fermented foods, forest walks, and sad songs.