This afternoon at about the third hour
While I was on Cross Bay
I saw what I thought was a passing flower
And it almost made me pray
But, alas, it was no bloom
It had an eerie sense of doom
Instead it was a lantern fly
And quite large as it flew by
Indeed, I say, it was quite pretty
Yet on second glance was also gritty
Oh lantern fly, oh lantern fly
You somewhat made my day
But I do warn folks emphatically
Bright wings can lead astray
William “Bill” Aiello is retired United States Postal Service employee. Since retirement his published works comprise two books, with a third on the way, also a short story, and numerous poems. He is also a ventriloquist, part-time actor and appears monthly at an open mic event. Bill is co-Executive Director of the Miss Five Boroughs and Miss Queens Scholarship programs, two preliminaries to the Miss New York and Miss America competitions. The little spare time he has left is devoted to bicycling, amateur photography, watching horse races and philately. These are activities with no relation to each other, but he believes dabbling in various fields keeps the mind active and gives him ideas for his written works.