How to Build a Moon Garden When the News Is All Horror

To see where the moon melts over the garden,
or where the bats flutter, or where the air softens

with pollen and moth frenzy, I recommend
a night walk to discern the perfect spot for this.

Under this glow, we could all use a distraction…
dig with a silver shovel and choose fading colors

and moan under our satellite: dusty roses,
Baby Blue, Lavender, White, and Butter Yellow Gemstones

take place from dusk until dawn. Sometimes moon flower
vine on a trellis looks like a waterfall

out of the corner of my eye. There are so many choices:
evening primrose, night jasmine, heliotrope,

tuberose, 4 hours, lamb’s ear, astilbe, calla lily, white clematis,
fairy candles, periwinkles and you can even throw snowballs

in summer with cream oak hydrangeas. Turn off the whistling
and whirring artificial lights and walking at night,

Walk on the grass, along the fence, let your boot crackle on it
pieces of stones and sticks. Be careful if skunks move around to see what

all the noise is there. Don’t fight with the weeds. If you define
your shovel, the skunks won’t bother you at all.

And if so, at least the spray could
sizzles like stars. Bats swoop and fly erratically, but birds

slide between the wing flaps – that’s how you can tell what
floats on the moon of a lake. If you make a moon garden,

even the dark lapping of water beneath the murmur of a wave
won’t be louder than silver in your own bright yard.