winterbadger | reverie

the moon, a broken sand dollar
hanging on a string, lit birghtly
the stars, a scattering of diamonds
caught in the net of the trees

i stand on my porch railing
to glimpse the fullness of orion
standing tall above my roof beam

why do i look east and south
instead of north and west?

perhaps because the stars are clearer, brighter there
behind me they are smaller, shyer
hidden in the web of single saplings, taller hardwoods
reaching up in a denser web of branches

quiet, i walk and stand
alone, but not lonely
this i have learned in time

a year of solitude, learning again
how to be myself

smoking, i wait
...for the contentment of food to mellow
...for the swell of whisky to recede
...for not-quiet to bring peace

through the window i watch cats
puzzled by human eccentricity
settle into comfortable waitingness

the sounds ofthe suburban night
a susurrus of traffic, near but not too near
distant sirens, hurrying to someone else's emergency
darkness obscuring my nieighbors' homes

i try to think
about myself and who i am
until i realize that this peaceful time
is not for thinking, but for existing

tomorrow will bring
all the thinking that i need, and more

now is for knowing who i am
...for accepting
...for observing
...and for being