Moons.....

.... while out in search of nachos this past Friday, I flipped on the car radio and was surprised to find it tuned to the University of Tennessee's station....... obviously allowing The Missus to pilot Blanche every so often is a bad, bad thing.... since I am SURE that my little ride is a fan of ZZ Top and AC/DC...... anyway, after a few snippets of classical music finished, a caramel-voiced fellow lit into some poetry... it was one that I had not heard before, and I enjoyed it very much..... so much so that, when I pulled Blanche into the driveway, I sat in the car contentedly listening until the gentleman finished his reading.....

.... so, since I am in a sharing mood today, here it is..... it seems to be meant to be read aloud... and slowly.... quietly, almost...... I do hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.......

Complaint by James Wright

She's gone. She was my love, my moon or more.
She chased the chickens out and swept the floor,
Emptied the bones and nut-shells after feasts,
And smacked the kids for leaping up like beasts.
Now morbid boys have grown past awkwardness;
The girls let stitches out, dress after dress,
To free some swinging body's riding space
And form the new child's unimagined face.
Yet, while vague nephews, spitting on their curls,
Amble to pester winds and blowsy girls,
What arm will sweep the room, what hand will hold
New snow against the milk to keep it cold?
And who will dump the garbage, feed the hogs,
And pitch the chickens' heads to hungry dogs?
Not my lost hag who dumbly bore such pain:
Childbirth at midnight sassafras and rain.
New snow against her face and hands she bore,
And now lies down, who was my moon or more

.... I don't know.... it just struck me as earthy honest, and heartfelt....... and that most of us truly don't know what we have until it is gone..... or, perhaps instead, that we should spend more time telling those that are our moons just how much we care for them while they are still orbiting..... so to speak.....

.... either way, I enjoyed it...... and it is always nice to learn something new... .