R. T. Smith: "Moth Aubade"

Downstairs early to mill

the morning coffee,

I find the kitchen wall

beside the lamp

is littered with moths

exhausted from a night

of circling the globe,

as if its light were

the source of joy.

As I approach in slippers

they hardly flutter

but hold their postures,

perhaps in their small

thoughts counting on me,

a frequent dreamer

still drowsy from reverie,

to show them mercy.

Pouring the beans, then

turning the worn handle

till the brass gears growl,

I study every wing

design—solid, striped

or mottled. To the Greeks

they were all psyche,

spirit drawn to flame,

but this August morning

I wish, before they perish,

to revive us all

with the scent of chicory

and conduct them out

the kitchen window

singing their luminous

individual names.

 
"Moth Aubade" by R. T. Smith. Text as posted on Silver Birch Press: New Voices in Fiction, Nonfiction, Plays & Poetry (12/17/12). 

Art credit: "Atlas moth wing," macro photograph by Dan Brown.

R. T. Smith: "Hardware Sparrows"

Out for a deadbolt, light bulbs
and two-by-fours, I find a flock
of sparrows safe from hawks

and weather under the roof
of Lowe's amazing discount
store. They skitter from the racks

of stockpiled posts and hoses
to a spill of winter birdseed
on the concrete floor. How

they know to forage here,
I can't guess, but the automatic
door is close enough,

and we've had a week
of storms. They are, after all,
ubiquitous, though poor,

their only song an irritating
noise, and yet they soar
to offer, amid hardware, rope

and handyman brochures,
some relief, as if a flurry
of notes from Mozart swirled

from seed to ceiling, entreating
us to set aside our evening
chores and take grace where

we find it, saying it is possible,
even in this month of flood,
blackout and frustration,

to float once more on sheer
survival and the shadowy
bliss we exist to explore.

"Hardware Sparrows" by R. T. Smith, from Messenger: Poems. © Louisiana State University Press, 2001.

Image: "Sparrows," acrylic painting by Spangles44 Blinkagain (originally color).