I had a moment
while looking up at the moon
parsing the night sky
obliterating the stars
that the steps I sat on
werent there
that the place behind me I
called home
wasnt there
and I too
was immaterial
it didnt frighten me
since Vietnam I was long past
being frightened by anything
I found the sensation odd
perhaps in a word
otherworldly
I felt like a note
rarely plucked on a harp string
sensitive to the vibrations
around it
the scale ascended
then descended away from it
keen it wasnt going
to be played
it was grateful
to be honed in place
then I was returned
I could feel my knee through my
pantleg
with my fingers
from where I sat
beneath this hilltop
there was a pale colored shimmering
it erased the street
the houses along it
the cars the curbs
the dogs their barks
the stealthy nocturnal cats
the brush and rosemary and
digger pines remained
thin coyotes yipped
deer flanks twitched
the distant infernal hum
of traffic on the 101
desisted
then electrical lights dotted
to the horizon
disappeared
an inky blackness oozed
for as far as my eyes could see
in every direction
it didnt frighten me
I was long past being
frightened by anything since Vietnam
0042, Saturday,
14 9. 13
