Just a Small Harvest Moon

by Rachel Barton


sometimes a Friday full moon calls for carbs you know
like a big bowl of popcorn or in my husband’s case
a bowl of peaches and ice cream something to fend off
self-doubt and worrisome dreams

because after you eat all that you can’t sleep anyway
and it’s the weekend so you don’t have to
stick to any schedule  you’re free
in a bubble of self-generated tasks
which can occupy you productively for several episodes

of your favorite crime series or maybe a short clip of the evening news
but which don’t carry the onus of failure because anything
you do is something more than nothing
so go ahead clean the sink empty the dishwasher
run the laundry  iron your husband’s shirts it’s all gravy

you are productive  which means you have value even
though you may not be advancing yourself professionally--
who’s taking a measure anyway? only you and you’ve
already scored because you are doing your anything
which is something  right?

maybe it’s enough to admire the garden going to seed
green tomatoes telling you not to jump to conclusions
though the rain pummels  the flowers of the glorybower
shreds them into a thin carpet along the drive
which you track inside petal after petal


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Rachel Barton is a poet, editor, and writing coach. She edits her own online Willawaw Journal and is associate editor for Calyx and Cloudbank magazines. Her most recent work has been or will be published in Main Street Rag, Corvallis Poetry Anthology, and CIRQUE. For more Information: rachelbartonwriter.com