Friday, May 25, 2018 9:56 AM

Small slugs map silent geometries on the yard's white stucco walls. Their traces chart equations that I think too quickly to understand. Around them, large insects pop in and out of view, punctuating the slugs' movement without altering their path. The backyard cats watch the bugs and slugs from a distance, not quite ready to pounce, but making it clear that if they wanted to, they could. I step quietly past them, my shadow sharp against the floodlit stone. I try not to disturb the cats or bugs. I can't tell if the slugs sense my presence. Barring unintended violence, I doubt that they would care.