How you bowed
to the new moon
of every month
Morning brings
the smell of rain
and incense burning
Traveler’s palm
waves at
the top of the hill
Each spring
we returned to the city
where you were born
What happened
to the pocket watch
from another century
And what became of
the penknife used
to sharpen the pencils
The trees you
first planted
are all gone now
Reading by
the glowworm light
of a kerosene lamp
The north side of the house
stays cool while the south side
burns with the sun
Not content to love
the singing thrush you
call it by another name
The dogs are silent
even though
the moon is full
Remembering
when we
were one
Copyright © 2022 by Dana Naone Hall. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 3, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.