Leatha Carter Virostko

Under the Agate Moon

I met a shadow-man on the road
under the agate moon

he slipped through my fingers
like a watery make-of-mind
following my every move

though sleep should have reigned
at this hour
we were alert as owls

a ribbon of tar stretched out to the east
the direction in which we were headed
though I seemed more anxious than
the reluctant shadow-man

a lonely car drove past
moving slowly
then stopping
with steam billowing

I thought we had become fellows
if not friends but
as the beetle ingested me
I found myself alone

looking through the rearview window
the shadow-man disappeared
into the night

while my new friend the driver said
"onward and upward"
we drove away into the night
under the agate moon

{Poem by Leatha Carter Virostko}