The Year in Thirteen Moons
i
gardener’s forgotten fork a pronged
Excalibur locked in iron ground,
round pond a mirror to the ice moon
ii
pollen-yellow catkin moon,
a token of death loosening its grip :
frost gone, sap on the move
iii
mass of gelatinous pale globes
inwardly twitching, sailed over
by the frogspawn moon
iv
astonishing all over again,
blossom moon poised to fall,
a million flakes of landed light
v
moon a bowl of milk,
like everything these days
of flowering, lappable
vi
feeding herself rotund in moth-
filled dark above the gardens,
soon gone moon of the bat
vii
skinnydipper moon, shredded
on the rocking water, re-made
whole only when we’re gone
viii
an answer to the spheres
pinking half-hidden among leaves,
ripening apple moon
ix
spider moon, plump visitor
looking to creep in through
the back door left ajar
x
where was your white body
lurking until now, puffball moon,
sprouted out of the void?
xi
all too soon the fireworks
are over : smudgy glow in mist,
cooling ember moon
xii
day’s wedge down to a third
of the clock-face : sleeper’s moon,
be the candle to my dreams
xiii
blank moon snared in the birch’s
fretted lattice, indifferent
to the name we choose for it
Steve Xerri has been a teacher, musician and designer. He was Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year 2017 and has appeared in numerous print and online magazines. His first pamphlet Mutter/Land was recently published by Oystercatcher Press. Details on his website https://