J. J. Steinfeld
A Perfect Moon, At the Very Least
You mean the choice this time
is between leniency and forgiveness
that’s hardly fair or enough
and who’s offering the goods
they could be counterfeit
then what would I do
not enough, another existential near miss
like missing a lottery win by one wilful digit
(isn’t that a kick in the cycles of life)
or even worse, like nearly falling in love
on a salvageable night with a perfect moon
(the last time there was a perfect moon
I heard from a metaphysician of perfect moons
was when several of the unloved fell in love)
wait, I seem to recall the previous time
I was offered a hush-hush deal in the night
it was between redemption and exoneration
and I’m nowhere closer to sense or escape
than before, so whoever you are,
I await my next choice and hope to hell
it includes a few lousy bucks
or a perfect moon, at the very least.