Consider the Moon

On a clear night like this
how could you not notice the moon,

steadfast and suspended;
our satellite in the darkness?

If you look closely,
even mindfully,
you might not be blindsided
by her silver sobriety.

Instead of constant confusion
and almost lunacy,
you might find yourself directed,

the wise inner detective
supple and ingeniously curious,

mastering how to classify stars, tombstones,
and other heavy metals

that float into your conscious thought
with no meaning greater
than a train schedule in Paris
or the forecast on the local Vermont radio.

Walking On Water

Under it all,
even with the depths at a distance--
where the ice was clear beneath us
and the augur was sharp and strong,

under it all
we learned to cull the weakness,
swap fear under the bridge
where we were threatened

for a chaste and uncorrupted thought
instead of waiting painfully
for the mind to shuffle
and pace with anxiety of falling
in to the cold below.

Under all the cracking
and frozen anticipation of another lonely day,
we breached the secure understanding of God in the world
and christen ourselves merely human.

Each unsteady step on the wobbling landscape
that glistened like a story of joy,

we forgot again
that walking on water
was never easy.