Black and White

Stars above and stars below, On silent ripples alone I go, Across the water, the trembling plain, In the empty quiet I’m at last without pain The dark of the sky is a balm to my eyes My ears are caressed by the pines and their sighs And the mind’s rest must come from the sweet summer air For if that's not peace then how could it bear, The vicious words that stream from every cranny: The screaming mistress and the sobbing of the nanny. She falls and hears the slam of the door The father yells from the top floor. In moon filled dreams I watch her go Swollen belly black against pure snow.