Moon glistens knowingly in the inky water
watching her pale body sink
the murmuring of night birds       woven
                               into hair of embers extinguished
sooty yet even soot is beautiful, to Moon.
eyes fixated on the navel of the pond
navel of the worlds' doings, of beginning of life & death
           a prayer escapes in the whisper of willow trees
into the arms of Night's gentle air.
           the pond itself is prayer, the water
giving life forth in Moon's embrace;

the woman glistens knowingly in the inky water-
eyes as steady as Moon's rays of borrowed light
              body, a temple of angles and soft circumference
glistening knowingly in the inky water
of Moon's embrace & the willow's whispers.