this partialmoon

This poem was published in the 2006 Silkworm, published by the Florence Poets Society. www.florencepoetssociety.org.



last night's sky gifted
a lunar eclipse.

warm in bed, already dozing
i realized the time was right.
i had needed persuasion
a momentous sign

so i walked out
into the night
punctuated by clouds
and a vaguely red
partialmoon.

with me i brought
a glass of water
and two cards
written in an architect's poetic hand

cards which once
lay cherished
under my pillow
but for months now
had been socked away
in the back of a drawer.

burned them there
on the grass with dew
turning toward frost
12 lunar cycles exactly
since those architect's hands
held mine

partialmoon witness
as always
to the opening and closing
of my heart.

(cc) Karen G. Johnston