The Moon Illusion
Near Earth's horizon the moon looms large,
threatening to break loose
from its place in the sky and plunge to earth.
With its wan and pockmarked face it dwarfs my world.
I can see but little else, my eyes filled
to overflowing by its presence.
Your death filled my life to overflowing.
For years I measured all events
against its shadow. But the heavens revolve,
the earth persists in its ellipse, and my loss diminished
proportional to the orbit of my years.
And as the night spins slowly by,
the moon floats on high, a thin, worn silver dime
on the dealer's dusty velvet,
worth whatever price the collector is willing to pay.
About the Author: Ruth Bavetta’s poems have appeared in North American Review, Nimrod, Rattle, Slant, American Journal of Poetry, Atlanta Review, Tar River Poetry and many other journals and anthologies. Her fifth book, What’s Left Over, won the FutureCycle Poetry Book Prize for 2022.
Image Credit: Edward Mitchell Bannister “Untitled” (1883) Public domain image courtesy of Artvee
As It Ought To Be 