The Face of the Moon
Will de Kypia


Under the full moon a priest with
no faith pauses his endless and aimless
peregrinations to rest beside a lake.

His companion, a dog with no
face, curls up next to him.

They sleep.

The priest dreams of his lost faith.
The dog dreams of her lost face.

When the moon begins to chant
a hymn of remembrance and regret
the two dreamers awaken.

The soul-stricken priest,
hearing the moon's sad plainsong,
weeps for his cast-off creed.

The dog, seeing the moon's
serene face mirrored on the lake,
wants it to be her lost one.

The priest bays at an uncaring moon,
the dog leaps into the lake to reclaim her face,
the gods snicker in their celestial place.



It's getting late.
Click the clock
to go home.