A Slice of Moonlight
I watch a flock of Black Skimmers
fly through the October sky—
and think of how I long to fly too
into the unimaginable night.
But in their wisdom, the stars and moon
refuse to gather me in,
so, I turn from dreams’ endless distances
to the still hour of the ordinary.
The gathering swell of birds over
green thatched dunes,
scented jasmine curved around
a roadside fence, a slice of moonlight
illuminating a bent branch,
laden with apples by the unpaved road.