A rising moon illuminates Sankaty Lighthouse.
Welcome to Verbatim, a re-telling of anything and everything on Nantucket through your own words. We accept photos, writing, and pretty much anything else that is an
expression and celebration of the community we live in and the beauty
around us. This week, poet Leonard Germinara of Spoken Word Nantucket shares his piece Ring Around the Moon.
Submissions may be sent to ackweb@plumtv.com, or dropped off at our office location in digital format at 4 North Water Street, Nantucket, MA 02554.
Ring Around the Moon
“Call no man happy until he is dead” – Herodotus
Know this brother, sister, whomever.
I have slept with the monster of beginnings womb,
suffered the effluvium and suffocation of certain consequence,
wobbled as newborn under the harsh light of what is and
Wondered why? We all have.
My gnarled arthritic sensibilities are
Searching for a way to unbutton
The pockets of your conclusion.
Turned off by zeros and ones,
Because math is not my strong point
And I so want this equation to make sense to you.
I sharpen my pencil, write this longhand,
Take out my calculator.
Knowing full well that a ring around the moon
Is a moon bow (which is not technically correct) and
Something that I would have you see
before you go,
If going is what you must do.
For you who know Herodotus is happy now
Call me so we may explore this paradox
Look up in the sky and wonder why
in a new light.
We’ll take out our slide rules and our stop watches
That we might realize the so much more
A salient point just beyond
Because that counts for something
The other side of that moon is dark
But we could find illumination
Obsidian, listen to the music of another morning
And find joy.
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