Snow moon

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Snow moon

Not the owl whose short questions are strung
On this line of dark hours like rosary beads.

Not the cloud’s cold eyelid closing over
The near-empty parking lot in each of our minds.

What drove you there and what were you trying
To buy on such a night when the moon arcs away

Like the last snowball you threw at a friend
You outgrew without knowing? They both faded,

They both landed somewhere beyond sight.
Not the short-tempered ladder to memory.

The night’s too wide to haunt. But for a few
Moments, it opened its eye to look at you

And swept across your life without noticing:
Who you missed, who you hit, how cold

Your hands were when it took shape.
And an idea drifted down un-owned

And clung to you like frost, an owl flown,
A string of prayers creased by doubt.

6 thoughts on “Snow moon

  1. Chris Furst

    Excellent poem, Jeff. I love the “short-tempered ladder to memory” and “a string of prayers creased by doubt.”

    Reply
      1. Chris Furst

        It’s been hellishly cold and windy here. We just moved (three doors down) to a new, bigger apartment right in the middle of the arctic blast.

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