Distance between Stars by M.J. Iuppa

We pick words consciously.
Polished, like glow-in-the-dark
moonstones, marking our way
out of a backyard woods.

These careful words rest
on our tongues, mooring
us to this hard-packed path,
this strait of silence dividing
place & sound as if we were
sent here to think long & hard
about noise.

We have been distracted by
weather & news & weather
that becomes news & disasters
& walls & apologies & distance
between stars . . .

We turn and look, and look
a bit closer, wondering
if we have presumed what
we heard to be true . . .

That noise, hissing—
Where does it
begin?

Here, at midnight
our near-frozen
pond assumes
its silence



M.J. Iuppa's fourth poetry collection is This Thirst (Kelsay Books, 2017). For the past 29 years, she has lived on a small farm near the shores of Lake Ontario. Check out her blog: mjiuppa.blogspot.com for her musings on writing, sustainability & life's stew.