Nights of June

a sonnet, some haiku, and plenty of moonlight

I seem to be writing a good many sonnets lately. This first poem was composed as I stood down in the canyon looking up at the moon-filled sky. Night is a time of life and comfort in the desert, especially up here toward the mountains.

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June Night, Looking Up

Between the yellow moon and purple Bear
There's nothing but a wash of haloed light;
A few pinpricks of stars may show through there
Through palest gilding of a summer's night.
A gentle breeze moves softly on my face,
And I half feel it's blowing from the moon,
For all that's in this moment and this place
Belongs to her and to the month of June.
The silence of the wind, the song of stars,
The comfort of the earth beneath my feet,
The gold light on my face from moon afar,
The kisses of the breeze surpassing sweet:
All things are summer and the moon-soaked skies,
The plenitude of night that dreams of paradise.

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The two haiku that follow were both also written at night. But in the first, the night sky is nearly empty; in the second it’s populated by the man in the moon!

Still night, four o'clock.
Venus in midnight blue sky,
There is nothing else.

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See man in the moon!
He’s peeking round our shadow
to look down at earth.

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And finally a morning glimpse!

Through the kitchen window I spotted a trio of quail: two chicks flanking a brightly colored male. The chicks were already half-grown, with small plumes of their own, making the picture I present here. A moment later I realized there were quite a few more quail further along the fence rail. But in the spirit of haiku’s brevity, I’ve expressed just the surprise of that initial vision.

See through the window
gray triangle with topknots–
quail clustered on fence.

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For your reading list for midsummer, don’t forget

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