‘Wasp, On Bricks’

Photographer Najib Joe Hakim

Wasp, On Bricks

At the corner of Cary and Arthur Ashe,

I slow to a stop 

among a small stack of cars

looking to make it 

to Richmond’s mercenary highway.

A boxy old SUV has its hazards on in an alleyway

silly place to park 

and on wondering, 

I look down to find

a wasp at the edge of a puddle.

There’s lot of large puddles in Richmond

this city doesn’t seem to know how

To do anything with water —

river polluted, drinking water stoppered, 

and their drainage isn’t that great either.

The wasp’s puddle is murky and wide,

in a cozy hollow where small bricks

have long since dipped

the wasp dances around the edges

as though fretting over a choice.

I don’t know what the wasp wants

the wasp lands at the edge 

and it occurs to me that I’ve never thought 

about how wasps, like everything else, 

need to consume water

Still it won’t stop, back and forth 

and back and forth,

like a Richmonder saying, 

this is my puddle but I don’t know

if it’s safe to drink from.

Emelia Delaporte is a recent graduate of Virginia Tech, where she studied English. In her time at the university, she served as editor-in-chief of Silhouette Literary & Art Magazine. Her work has been published in the Silhouette, the Shenandoah Avalon and the Floyd County Moonshine. She has work upcoming in Saw Palm, Mantis, Strip Mall and Nova Magazines. She currently lives, works and creates in Virginia.