Midnight in the Garden
I sit in the garden by candlelight
Listening to the sounds of the night
Water trickles over stones
While cars streak down the street
Peace, overcome by chaos
I hide under a canopy of trees,
the largest is a silver maple 100 years old,
she has a gigantic trunk with deep roots
and a broad span
The maple has taken a lot of hits,
many branches have fallen yet new growth continues
I sip my wine and listen
There’s a rumble in the clouds and
lightning on the horizon
I feel sad for all the tragedy and madness in the world, the war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 Pandemic, illness and decay.
I look at Willy Dog's stone, lying next to me, his resting place. I remember his loving excitement. Yet I feel a sense of the crypt, looking at his grave, the dread of death.
Time waits for no one, I’m getting older, I can feel it in my bones
My candle shimmers in the night, cutting through the darkness, its light is golden.
I think of the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, the high drama queen who came from nothing and became the most famous name in poetry
She is full of lust, independence and beauty,
she is intimate with lovers in a gripping embrace.
Edna is the leader of the Bohemians swimming together, cozy in the hot tub, water dripping from their lips
I want to see water, the beach, the sun and the sand with my lover
But I am in the urban forest
under the canopy
in the center of the city,
in my garden
at night
I end my romance
with this moment
I blow out the candle
go inside and
then it begins
to rain
--by Michael Hooper, May 18, 2022
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