Ghosts On The Moon

(for Edgar Allen Poe that he might find rest)

sometimes when I am listening to very ancient tunes

I feel the boat is listing

like ghosts on the moon

or I have half way entered

an old familiar room

when all I feel is distance

is it ghosts on the moon?

o lily of the valley

the pearled bright web of tears

has ornamented all the lawns

of landscapes far and drear

the sky like a cobalt diamond

the ground begins to sing

and heaven is but a misting

and earth an echoing.

since music led me somewhere

I never meant to go

straight through a dahliad garden

into a realm of snow

and I see all the angels;

silks worked on a loom

and I will go on living

just like ghosts on the moon.

mary angela douglas 15 november 2021