[Mark A. Murphy]

Adagio Sostenuto

i

What matters most to lovers is silence,
the moon as it rests in the quiet
corners of the soul.
The hunger between ‘little deaths,’

which last an eternity–

the chord chains we piece together
as if to restore
clairvoyance to the ear.
Cadence and tonality expositing love.
Affecting all that lives or dies.

And our rebirth in the stars.

ii

Only moonlight knows
the hesitation between loving
and longing, grief and our ability to give
ourselves, without recourse
to regret.

So, moonlight on the waves moves us
like the motion of tides
rising and falling within the heart
as we indulge our fancies.

Melody and waning crescent–
echoed in the intervals between kisses.
Unfolding slowly, beyond
the migration of minor chords.

Moonflower and jasmine
embracing (forever) between root notes.

Perigee. And dreams.