THE MOON AND THE SILENCE
(Winter in Hyannis, 1999)
 
I take a seat because I want to stay a while.
I want the moon and the silence.
I draw my arms close to my chest.  
To force an entire place to freeze is something.

There are trees in the yard.  They rise
and then they end, just below the moon.
I look at these trees for a long time.
The moon casts light onto the uppermost branches of these trees.
I can see even the tiniest branches.  All these branches
        look like a giant web.
I stare at the intricacy of this web for a long time.

I stare at the moon for a long time,
and I don't know why.
I want to know why the moon and the silence make me think
        this way that I am thinking.
I stare.
I want to know what they want, what I want, what I’m doing here,
        here on the porch in winter.
I think they want to tell me something.
I think they want me to think a certain way.
I think they have answers for me.  I think they have the answers
    and it seems like they are always just about to give them
            and then nothing.  Nothing
but the moon and the silence.

Ahhh.  But the moon and the silence are good. 
I like the moon and the silence.
I like it here on the porch in winter,
with the moon and the silence.


A version of this poem first appeared in Cyber Oasis, September 2002.