Moonbeam Dream
Let’s walk a while beneath full moon
Bright as days of sunless weeks
So strange the rainclouds gathering soon
As cold caresses dampened cheeks
We pound the pavements of parish street
Where few are the walkers that welcome give
Wet weather dulls the desire to greet
These villagers who know the lives we live
And expect little more from passing strangers
Than that they might simply wish us well
Light on face reflects imagined dangers
As in the gruesome tales pub talkers tell
These fleeting feelings are real yet as eerie
As the shadows cast by moonlight beaming
On fluttering leaves and stragglers weary
Amidst windblown water on pavements gleaming
Rooftop raindrops fall before us
Reflecting rays of a now-darkened sun
Footsteps chant a raucous chorus
As commuters crushing homeward run
From station to warmth of family dinner
Though they may not be what they may seem
How can one tell the saint from sinner
In conscience stream of moonbeam dream?
Beyond the churchyard, talking loudly
As water drips from plastic gutters
A group of people protest too proudly
Then one of them an oaf-oath utters
Laughter breaks the menacing mood
Then all shake hands in comforting rite
And return inside the pub for food
As we continue by celestial light
On beyond the rows of gardens
To where the street becomes a road
Though our resolve to take fresh air hardens
We must return to our safe abode
Praise be to the moon for letting us see
The bridge that crosses the rising stream
Grateful to be walking free
In this rain-filled, weak-willed, moonbeam dream