New Moon Newton
God is Change,
And in the end,
God prevails.
But meanwhile . . .
Kindness eases Change.
Love quiets fear.
—Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents
stars
whole patterns of them
rocking around in the radiant arena
above and around our heads
on a night when the wind
sang like a scream
and the deer stood frozen
as a statue of itself
the sky was dark because
la luna had finished revealing themself
and was not yet ready to
begin again
and I get it now:
a stanza is like a little frame
and the frame is a little crooked
jenny
calls from the road and we talk
I walk
so briefly we together
move from our faraway states
synced perhaps by the clap
of hooves and burning oil
and the telephone can be a line
like any other wire
so can I say it:
love frightens me
the matter it contains
the speed the direction
even words of thanks
at the reference desk
from a patron
gracias, amor
haunt me in the quiet places . . .
but if “god is change”
then is it god who sent my matter
hurtling back into the open open
can anybody tell me how to contain it
clockwork
even the moon
on a calendar stacked
fluxes away and comes back
striking disclosure
arrives in flashes
Copyright © 2023 by Oliver Baez Bendorf. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 1, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.
“Everybody knows that poets are moonstruck. Of course, it’s so cliché, but we have our reasons and they are compelling. How could I not be struck by the force that causes ocean tides? This poem is a surrender to change, to a fresh start, to trust in the benevolent forces not only celestial but also earthly, such as friends and strangers, that have moved me into a brighter, kinder phase of life.”
—Oliver Baez Bendorf