Terms of Endearment
Snubby nose, moon calf, cat
of my dreams. Draw your knees
up to your chin the way you did
when you were ten and a little
afraid. Speak to me directly. Tell
me the truth. Make this
truth last a long time. How
delicate you are, how in the moment.
Soft pillows, open window, breeze
blowing in.
Do you remember
when you were small, how sleepy
the nights were, how long the
winter, how cold the flat moon?
You were happy to get older,
to walk out of the playroom, that
haven of warm milk and
troubled furniture.
Speak to me directly.
Funny nose, bird in a tree, crazy bird.
Everything all grown up now. The
curves of the moon holding steady.
/////
Ruth Danon, writer, teacher, and curator, is the author of four books of poetry, a chapbook, and a book of literary criticism. Her memoir, Long Ago in the Twentieth Century, is forthcoming from Grid Books. She has published and performed widely. She is founder of Live Writing, a project for the reading, writing, and performance of poetry; She is Poet Laureate of both Dutchess County and Beacon, NY.
Lightwood 