At the age of three,
I stood on the baseboard heater
To reach the single window
In my boxed room in order to
Look out at the night sky.
Calmed by the lighted darkness
That went on further than
My growing brain could comprehend –
The moon shone bright
Right in front of me,
Framed by the pane.
This went on night
After night until
The day my mother
Explained that my special moon
Was nothing more than an
Exterior fixture atop the
Building across the street from us.
From that time on –
My routine would continue
With my conviction that
The industrial bulb
Glowed each night
Just for me.
Tina Vorreyer, graduate of Lawrence University (Appleton, WI), has been published in 4 anthologies by Z Publishing (2017-2019), Black Works Issue #2 (July 2019), Not Very Quiet Issue #4 (March 2019), Riza Press’s “Project Healthy Love” online showcase (January 2019), and is Poet’s Choice’s September 2019 Poetic Musings Contest Winner.