The Moon Divides

I.

The rain stopped

And the clouds slowly moved

Away. The world is still

Suffering a blackout. We should have left

When we had the chance

But you insisted on staying

Dry in the confines of a bar

Glowing with candles.

While I watched your face glow before the darkness

You watched the rain grow stronger,

Weaker, and eventually die.

After I studied everything there was to see

In your face—the deep of your eyes,

Your firm cheeks, a trace of spaghetti sauce

On the trail of your lips—you looked at me

As if it was my first time to witness rain.

Of course I’ve seen this phenomenon

Since I was little, sometimes waiting

For the sun to come out so I could

See how fresh the garden is after a drizzle,

Sometimes the rain singing a lullaby

of raindrops on my roof at night.

We didn’t carry an umbrella that night.

I knew you enough not to wait for the weather report

But to simply look at the sky. We both did

And somehow we refused the rain

That took place and eventually we welcomed the storm

That would keep us together with open arms,

Like the bar that kept us dry.

We heard each drop speak words.

We heard them clearly:

Stay      stay            stay

II.

We parted with the bar and set for the street.

The moon peaked from the clouds,

It was full. We saw it, reflecting

On the many puddles we passed.

And occasionally, we would step on

These puddles, stepping on the moon

As man did for the first time decades ago.

It was simpler than what I expected

And with each step, we divided the moon

With our shoes, leaving it all a blur.

Water will heal, and so will the moon.

We knew this well enough. We’ve seen the moon

Since we were kids, we’ve seen the sky

Grow angry and light up, we’ve seen the city

In total darkness, for how many times, we’ve lost count.

Yes, we’ve seen this before

And it never fails to end:

Nighttime, rainfall, lunar shape shifts.

For when we reached the end of the street

I knew we would have to part

The same with tomorrow, and the day after that

For seeing you off is like waiting for the next

Rain to keep us closer

To the moon and other things that are

always             

distant.