MISTS, SUNS, MOONS

25 Aug 99

The mist
settles over the night,
like an octopus
overtaking its prey,
containing it,
restraining it,
until the break of day.

The sun
dissolves the nightly mist,
like an oven
melting rocks to lumps of clay,
retaining them,
reclaiming them,
to live another day.

The moon
absolves the sun and mist,
as bleach absolves a stain,
coaxing them,
reproaching them,
the texture to retain.

The cosmos
spins around us,
as does our time in space,
nudging exploration,
inviting deportation,
to another time and place.

The sun will set in places
that I have never been.
The moon will rise on faces
that I have never seen.
The cosmos will continue,
whether I have been or not.