One Full Moon in October

My Hometown Poem #113

I was on my way to a party / 
in a high rise building / 
on the Upper East Side / 
dressed in costume / 
as a Benedictine monk / 
in a simple brown robe /
The night was crisp and cool / 
that snap in the air / 
that electrifying autumn energy / 
the feeling that something /
might happen / at any moment / 
like waiting for a singer / 
to open her mouth /
for the sound to emerge / 

I emerged / from the yellow cab /
paid the driver / stepped / 
into the street / the hum of traffic /
and passersby / the harvest moon /
bursting like a giant letter O / 
in the dark sky / A sudden chorus / 
rang out / windows opened / 
yelling and cheering and streamers / 
and water / pouring from balconies /
in celebration / a cacophony / 
of joy / I could not hear / 
what anyone was saying / 
but I knew / 

A man crossing the street / 
clad in a blue pinstripe jersey / 
and a white cap / with a blue Y / 
grabbed me / whirled me / gleefully / 
planted a wet kiss / on my cheek / 
We spun round / for a moment / 
Bless you, Father! / he said  / 
looking at my robes / I mean / 
Bless you, Sister! / and we laughed /
under the streetlight / in the dark / 
strangers / bound by a common moment / 
a shared happiness / the music / 
of jubilation spilling out / After all / 
it was Halloween weekend / and the Yanks 
had won the World Series / and the moon / 
smiled / as if the world / could always / 
be this magical / 

---

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.

Columnists:

Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup

Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia

Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

Letters from Iowans, Iowa

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities

Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Macey Spensley: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk

Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

The Iowa Writers Collaborative is also proud to ally with Iowa Capital Dispatch.