Distance

bright silver moonlight
streaming in through the skylight
pooling on the floor
–
quicksilver-
the full moon
above the trees

I placed you upon
a pedestal and now you’re
far beyond my reach
–
the house dark-
a distant moon
through the skylight

tiny wisps of light
at the edge of the forest
dancing in the dark
–
the nighttime sea-
distant sirens
in the dark

twisting in my sleep
I smell the blood and cordite
and lotus flowers
–
torrential rain-
countless lost
to take a hill

brutal onshore winds-
a nor’easter whips the sea
as waves pound the beach
–
my collar up-
a man chases
his hat

golden fields of wheat-
long blades of giant windmills
lazily turning
–
arid sun-
sagebrush
swirls in wind

slowly settled in
every movement painful with
these old weary bones
–
well worn stones-
shore water’s
ebb and flow

withered autumn leaves-
not sure if he’ll live to see
another sunrise
–
desert stars-
hard and blue
in the moonlight

early spring flurries-
a young robin perches in
snow covered holly
–
peach sunrise-
frost glazes the
juniper berries

an old foundation
reclaimed by a forest of
thickly tangled vines
–
blowing snow-
winds sing in
the chimney