"First Sight" poem

Photograph taken in Williamsburg, VA. The Point at Jamestowne Island. 2017

"First Sight"

The winter trees masquerade as clay formations.

The moon steals glances of me as I

Watch her through a veil of lacework clouds.

When I was three and thirty, I looked at the afternoon sky.

I saw the atmosphere—

It seemed the blueness of the world went on forever.

Beautiful. Beautiful. Suspended

Blue.

I imagined my hand penetrating the stratosphere.

So much energy is lost, wasted—in staring ahead,

And looking down. How often does anyone

Keep looking up?

We mention the moon and the sun with

Commonplace effect. Much of the human

Race lives myopically in manmade repetitiveness.

Is it not amazing how the moon exists at all?

The “sky blue” firmament?

The Earth is moving right this minute,

While the attendant at the drive-thru

Takes your order.

All the cars in a row. Hackneyed conversation

On a daily basis.

At any given moment, where is anyone going?

I smile in wonderment at the moon’s presence.

I smile in amusement at the absurdity of man.

I smile in sorrow because few take notice.

I smile in agelessness as I walk alone.

I smile in weariness as my soul marches home.

The brilliant blue sky lives inside me.

And the moon will always be new.

—Wheston Chancellor Grove

2 February 2018