Colin Bailes

Colin Bailes lives in Richmond, Virginia, where he studies in the MFA program at Virginia Commonwealth University. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Hollins Critic, Rust Moth, Sugar House Review, and Whiskey Island, among others. He reads for Blackbird.

Dusk in the Garden

Light pervades the brindled ironwork
of a lawn chair, sun slips below the tree line,
renders Spanish moss lambent. Above,

an airplane furrows the sky. Our wine glasses
dwindle, ruby legs coat the clear walls.
What else is given to this moment?

Garnet grapes on a small, white plate; camembert;
some conversation about Tolstoy, a quiet
secluded life in the country.

We wait in the garden for the solar lights
to click, for the trail
which leads back to the house

to appear. For now, in this bluest of hours,
there's nothing but ember,
your lit cigarette pulsing with each breath.