MONDAY: Maori by Moonlight

BY DIANNE KORCHYNSKI

Copyright is held by the author.

By day the shadows of the palm
quiver nervously
across the lawn

By night
I let the shadows of the palm
tattoo me
pattern my thighs
turn me Maori, Polynesian
Hawai’ian even —
for large seconds
there is no wind

Look up.
See their gloss
bang up against
my eyes — and still
it is only half
a moon.
O luna, O hina
you rule the sky

your brilliance
no second hand sun