By the Light of No Moon

Back Porch Writing

BY THE LIGHT OF NO MOON

 

It is a solitary night

Sitting on paint peeled

Back porch steps

Writing by the light

Of no moon

Illuminated by the reflection

Of the safety light on

The city provided garbage can

That some fairy…

Or good Samaritan-

Takes to the street every week

                The Pisces in me forgets…or just doesn’t care

The limbs and branches

Sway a sultry beat over the light

Allowing hit and miss glimmers to fall across

Me and my paper

Teasing or taunting

-I can’t tell which

The  shadows on the ground their understudy

Of this moonless night interlude

Where the still air is warm

But the breeze chills the bones just enough

To show you who’s boss

And you realize that even if you could control it all

You wouldn’t-

Because the appeal of it all running free is much greater

Than the want of dictatorship

Over something that flows so well on its own

The street lights twinkling like stars through the trees

Are a testament to that

All is as it should be

Even with no moon to shine over it

The trees know just when to shift…

The wind just when to swirl…

The shadows just when to dance…

Just as I, deep down, knew just when to walk outside

-And sit on these steps

-To be a witness to it all

 

 

© M/Gatlianne 2009