Every Tuesday, I'll be sharing a poem that resonates in some way... with the season, the current moment, a feeling in the air. These may be diverse poets from around the world. but Maine has a rich community of poets past and present who will be specially celebrated in this column. What better way to kick off the Poem of the Week than with one of Camden's own? Poet Kristen Lindquist has written numerous books of award-winning poetry steeped in a sense of place and the natural (and peopled) world. As we're just coming off of election season (or still in the throes), this week I bring you a timely poem of Lindquist's: a post-election reflection published in 2017's Tourists in the Known World. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a seasonal poem from this local poet.
Moon-viewing Party After the Election
This golden world the trees
lay at our feet
the moon carries on its back
as its rises full from the ocean
crowning an island and a rosy sky
last gulls turning pink
as they wing their way home
the water shivers
under the ribbon lain across it
while on shore we huddle near a bonfire
drawing comfort from the rudimentary
offerings of heat and light
boy with his bare feet
held soles upward near the flames
some have never known
the hatred and unrest that’ve arisen
in our country this week
but others remember
a woman waves sage smoke
over each of us to purify
what else can we do
in this moment low tide
at a northern beach in November
ferry snugged tight in its dock
why go anywhere else
what else can we do
but stand firmly on the sand
crunching seaweed underfoot
turn to each other
and talk about our lives
these fragile lives limned in gold
and turn to tables crowded with food
everyone has brought something
and look here says the moon
or was it me someone
has brought bourbon
four of us share sips from one glass
why can’t it just be like this
all of us standing together in moonlight
(you here too, with me)
listening with care to each other
what it all comes down to
someone offers up hotdogs
roasted in the fire
someone points out the Big Dipper
suspended upright low over the beach
holding all the darkness in
that big cup pass the bourbon
pour the wine red please
let’s at least celebrate this moon
its closest apogee in decades
a friend baked a big chocolate cake
in the shape of a heart
she tells us it takes a round pan
and a square pan
it tastes perfect with bourbon
that hint of bonfire smoke
a woman I just met
makes me laugh like I haven’t
laughed all week
we need this moon we say
but it rises whether we want it
or not regardless of need
just as it rose when this beach
was under a mile of ice
or when tiny ancient mollusks
inched their way over primordial mud
some of them fixed there still
waiting to be rediscovered
we can’t depend on it
but its light
that beautiful light reveals
what we can depend on
in each other.
- Kristen Lindquist