The moon-laid path
glistens on night water
inviting a dance.
Owl calls from the wood,
the splash of a seal.
I think to go within,
conditioned by some long-ago cave,
but the night is still and alive
with the deep peace of silence.
Moon awakens the land.
Trees stand tall in the stars.
I touch their rough bark,
giving myself to place.
Hollow as a reed
the music plays on
haunted until morning.
Beautiful poem…and beautiful photo. Where was the photo taken? It seems very familiar!
I come from a magnificent walk in Lithia Park .. to your gorgeous path of magic under the silence of the moon. We are so privileged to live on this enlivening planet that is always reflecting the beauty of our existence.
Beautiful!
I might suggest:
Moon path glistens
On night water…
But you already know I am a fan of trimming back little words and ugly words like “laid.”
However, the overal effect of the poem is one that has the moody intent of Frost’s “I am one accustomed to the night” without all his formal dipsy doodling. I also like your allusion to Rumi in “hollow as a reed” as he, too, saw the human body as a reed with seven holes through which the spirit plays us. And, of course, an evocative photo!
Beautifully evocative and alive.
What a vision in words.
Thank you, Don.
Lovely, Don. Thank you. Ronnie
What stunning images, Don!
On those extra warm summer nights I love to plunk my sleeping bag in the back yard and just drink it in..one of the finest things to stargaze and be blessed by the sounds and majic of the night world..fills a deep reservoir in me..Your poem captures exactly that
My heart and mind touches the oneness of it all in the deep silence. Your poems are always a call to remembrance. Thank you!
Powerfully moving images Don, I can feel the hollow, haunting music playing!