MOON

The year we get the place it's sitting alone
In an empty field with some old outbuildings
Between the river in front and a pine forest
That makes a black scratch high uphill in back.
Bleached white an elm sticks out of one corner by the road.
When we take it out the stump is three feet across.
There's some wornout apples in foundation rubble on the side.
Drawing the punky wood to the trash we plan the future.

I get a calendar with the phases but I forget to look at it
And tonight I'm surprised to see it's light outside.
Through the open door the circle is full and high
And the new maples make dark shadows on either side.
At two in the morning the air is cool and I'm pleased
How easy it is at this hour to find the right words.
My boy sleeps on the floor to escape the heat upstairs.
Along the river a white mist hangs over the water.

A sapling begins to yellow out of season
And a few days later it's gone all brown. Two others
Stand like dry sticks from the harsh winter we had.
Vigorous weeds grow in the field beyond
With showy reddish tops and generous leaves.
A milky substances fills the hollow stems.
Feeding on the blooms an orange butterfly with tiger markings
Floats off and soars then settles where it rests again.

I take him to the river for a swim and we walk far up
Between the glacial boulders looking for the deepest pool.
By a damp bank in flowers with purple spikes we find
A couple in secret join their potent bodies in the stream.
When they kiss she looks up her face opening like a child.
The way the waters run I imagine a celestial force at work.
Later I catch a spot of color bobbing above the road ahead
And for a moment I fear we'll crush it speeding forward.

Jay NY 7/24/94