Roofing a Shed in Moonlight

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ROOFING A SHED IN MOONLIGHT


is not something I do often,

or ever, but with the coming weather 

and the scattered pitter-patter 

of mice who’ve nibbled holes 

in the tarp, I’m up here 

in the dark. Well, not quite 

the dark: what's left of light strikes

the full-moon of the nail-heads, 

and if a bit dim, sure, it’s enough 

to see what I’m swinging for. 


And not quite my first time, 

either, or any of ours—

we spend much of our lives here, 

spidering in the rafters 

of the various shelters we construct 

to hold whatever we hope

to harbor from the rain. 


A bit precarious, yes, but 

there’s firm enough to balance on, 

a dash of reflected light, 

and if, come morning,

it's all a bit tilted to the left,  

it’s not like this is our permanent

residence we're pounding together.


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