Ekphrastic About an Uncited Artwork on Tumblr

Kate Kadleck

Remember the night the dragon
crash landed on the roof of the
fast food restaurant, tendrils of
smoke billowing out of its nostrils,
its tail spiraling across the
pavement? Some of us stayed
in our locked cars; some of us
stood outside, clutching our cell
phones to our ears; some of us
stared out the windows, our
mouths as round as donut holes.
That evening, the sky wore pink and
gold ribbons. Nobody knew what
to wish for, whether we wanted
the dragon to survive. All we
knew for sure was that he was
beautiful, his blue-black scales
glinting in the dusky gloom.
We asked ourselves, if dragons
are real, what else might be?
We scrunched our eyes shut and
prayed we would live to find out.

Ekphrastic About an Uncited Artwork on Tumblr is also published through Moss Puppy Magazine’s Issue 9.

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Kate Kadleck
Kate Kadleck is a writer and relationship therapist based in Dubuque, Iowa, where she resides in a midcentury modern house with her spouse, two dogs, and four chickens. Kate holds an MS in marriage and family therapy and has been passionate about creative writing since the first grade, when her teacher saw a spark and bought her a special notebook. She is the author of a chapbook, Corpse Pose (Bottlecap Press, 2025). Her poetry can also be found in places such as wildscape., Tenth Muse, Thimble, The Indianapolis Review, The Garlic Press, and One Hand Clapping.