THERE SHOULD BE A MOON OF DARK PLUM

 

there should be a moon of dark plum

flowering above the city asleep

the city asleep with its lamps like fireflies

awash in deeper dreaming than before

counting all centuries back

to find nothing at all censorious

the moon of dark plum

and the stars swiveling

mere children in their Christmas chairs

singing their sugarplum transfigurations

growing softly as the grass

that lies in purple shadow in the painting

the painting where you look into

your childhood as into a pastel mirror

as into the incalculable evening

with its china blue song

incapable of fading

as if for the last time.

mary angela douglas 1 april 2023