A Summer Night

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by Kate Barnes

A summer night. The moon's face,
almost full now, comes and goes
through clouds. I can't see
any stars, but a late firefly
still flicks his green lamp on and off
by the fence.
In this light
that is more illusion
than light, I think of things
I can't make out: milkweed opening
its millions of flowerets, their heavy heads
smelling like dark honey in the night's
darkness; day lilies
crowding the ditch, their blossoms
closed tight; birds asleep with their small legs
locked on twigs; deer stealing
into the uncut hay; and the young bay mare
kneeling down in the pasture, composing herself
to rest, as rounded and strong
as a meant prayer.


please note: art by Marcia Wegman

Comments

  1. dsAugust 19, 2009 at 6:52 AM

    Love it! Great photo, too--you can almost feel the sky rolling.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RudeeAugust 19, 2009 at 11:37 AM

    It took so long for summer to show up here that I'm sorry it's on its way out.

    This is such a moving work that I can almost smell the milkweed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. English RiderAugust 19, 2009 at 12:15 PM

    Thanks for introducing me to this poet's work. I went and found other examples of her writing which also spoke to me "Other Nations" and "To a Skylark".

    ReplyDelete

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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