this blue moon

this limbo, this midnight, this blue moon

dark as Death at the edges
quiet as the grave but for the sweep of a paddle through still waters
and the soothing wash that trails a sixteen-foot Old Town under pull

when it's my Time, I forgo the ash,
lie it gently at my feet,
and slide silently towards the light

the spark manifests, full-faced, above the eastern tree line,

illuminating this liquid rent in the forest with bright monochrome

black and white, dark and light, somehow both

soundless to the center, in flight o'er the stars that shine beneath me,

waters as deep as the Milky Way reflected, the Universe above and below

I glide to a stop between worlds

here to sit
here to stay
here to spend my Forever in this stark transplendency

but I am mistaken, it's not my Time

as much as I might wish it to be

my immutable Forever's not yet mine

for there's one on the shore that awaits me

a love that keeps me afloat

so I must scatter the stars with my stroke, once again, and return

but not right away

a minute, an hour, an eternity I'll pause 

to savor

this limbo, this midnight, this blue moon