Another Moon

Mama said

it only existed in storybooks

with its soft surface

of  bluebells

but there it was

spinning so close to the earth

that it bent

every weather vane in Omaha

it was prom night

and I thought I’d pluck a few

trumpets

to bring your Grandma

so I pulled our red ladder out

of  the garage

and climbed to the roof

I stood up

and imagined I was balancing

the moon on my head

the narrow windows of  Union

Station

gleamed like ice chips

and the thin faces of the clock

tower told me

it was almost eight

I was going to be late picking

Nancy up

if  I didn’t get a move on

so I snipped off the best stems

and hurried

back down to my Ford

I sped through every stop sign

on my way

to her parents’ house

she was waiting with her arms

crossed

trying not to look upset

I think she thought

she was going to get stood up

so when I popped open

the door

and told her to get in

she couldn’t help smiling a bit

she asked

what’d taken me so long

and I figured I should go ahead

and give her the flowers

I’d brought her

I’d set them

back behind the steering wheel

to not ruin the surprise

I told her she was the princess

and I was the knight

who rode into the stars

so he could flare

their notes to her on a blue horn