How the moon lengthens
and quivers, startles
into a thousand
shattered stars
that slowly swim back

into a crystal ball
as it floats in this
wineglass. Silver liquid
opens its crater-deep
heart to reveal

a silhouette of lovers
beneath the cherrybark oak.
She traces the hollow
of his throat, as though
her fingertips

might discern truth
in his words. The shift
of an eye, a downward
curve of lip raise
a breeze that sways

frost-slender fronds
and wavers the wine.
Shadows lace the moonlight
between leaves to veil
her in darkness.

As his footprints
dust through diamonds,
she reaches toward him
and gathers back
a handful of night.