Black Moon by Will Reger

A new fabric of air settles in—
a feeling of knife-swath—while you
bring in the last tomatoes;
the last baskets of fall apples,
aromatic, sweet; potatoes
smelling of earth.

Wearing pink tights
and faerie wings,
your daughter sings
and dances at your table.
She has drawn chalk flowers
on the sidewalk for hours,
in light like darkening honey,
until the twilight cuts her short

and the black moon rises
above the turning birds
who leave the roughening sky.
But you can light a fire
in your front room and gather
around it with your children:

For you, nature is all arranged,
the texture of it smooth
as the marshmallow
melting in your s’more.



Will Reger is the 2019/20 inaugural Poet Laureate for the city of Urbana, Illinois. He is a founding member of the CUPoetry Group (cupoetry.com), teaches at ISU in Normal. His work appears in numerous publications, including most recently The Blue Nib Literary Magazine. His first chapbook is Cruel with Eagles.