The Moon with a Hole in its Heart

The moon travels solo

around the Earth.

Never getting closer,

never getting farther away. 

On Monday night it sits

in the bar, hackneyed, locks eyes

with the lonely. Stays over Wednesday

night and by Sunday cuts

the strings, ready for harbor

in the bosom of its own breast. 

It is not for lack of wanting.

It is not for lack of loneliness.

It is not for malice or greed.

It is for sweetness. 

Sincerity. Exploration.

It is to test the tethers

of the past, to transcend

the damage that has been

done, to mend the broken bones

of relationship, marriage. 

Do not blame the moon. Revel

in its authentic caring

for itself and forget about the hole

that is not yours

to heal. The hole

that no one can see

but everyone knows is there.

Sometimes You Just Need to Shut Off the Moon

The anonymity of the Internet

lends itself to random encounters

on Monday nights at the bar,

and, serendipitous

as they may seem,

only one side of the story

is known. Sometimes, exactly

what you’re looking for

is what the other is not

and the easiest response

is to withdraw, shut off

the moon from the switch

under the bed, carelessly,

recklessly, and utterly

in healing to the hole in your heart. 

We are two virtual ships passing

in the digital night, and the ghost

of your desires once filled my sails.