Thinly veiled moon plays
peek-a-boo between clouds;
shadows dance and disappear.
Trepidatiously at first,
then emboldened smelling
gifts of sweet corn and fruit,
Tiny herd of six deer
emerges, treading lightly,
from behind bracken woods.
Mid-American backyard
delivers a bountiful promise,
harmonizing our closing days.
Rick Hartwell is a retired middle school teacher (remember the hormonally-challenged?) who just moved to northern Illinois from southern California (?) with his wife of fifty years, Sally Ann (upon whom he is emotionally, physically, and spiritually dependent), one grown daughter, and ten cats! Like Blake, Emerson, Thoreau, and Merton, he believes that the instant contains eternity.