POEM

Moon to Monoceros

Pondering the Night Sky

Sidney Hall [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The moon is piercing, steely magisterial,
a silver orb on a black vacuum.
On its surface, the maria a navy blue;
one, the Sea of Nectar,
a cul-de-sac trapping the Gods it woos.

Floating ‘round the moon,
random stars lie muted in an infinite ocean
like a gnat cloud at twilight, a twinkling glimmer
of insistent light hiding a heat that simmers.

I find the constellations difficult to trace.
I wonder if they’ve been moved
to give the night skies a fresh glaze
or is some ancient Greek amused
that I yearn to find Monoceros?

I see the moon and the cosmos dance
to a shawm and plainchant drone.
The Rings of Saturn, Polaris,
and the Great Red Spot, too,
in a monophonic bliss, hum,
whether or not I am alone.