LULLABY

Photo by S. Auberle

LULLABY

Someone said today
the tundra swans are passing over,
the pure white of their bodies
shadows on the green waves and
that there are two hundred-thousand
geese on the Horicon marsh,
that they fly in first and last
two hours of daylight
and that both goose and swan
mate for life.

I'm thinking of them tonight
as I wait for moonrise,
considering how light
guides their journey,
how it falls from the moon
onto their wings, folded
like thousands of praying hands
and how they quiet themselves
there in the darkness
each resting beside the mate.

Love, cover us with soft down,
dim the light for now.
We'll take the unmarked road
tomorrow.

- mimi