I shall write down their names

May 6, 2002

When I come to the edge of the sky
I shall write down their names –
the name of the great horned owl
and the name of the moon,
write them large on my page,
and watch as they take shape,
the owl on the shed roof
and the moon in a far tree,
and I shall practice pronouncing
those names until the sounds
come perfect and round,
their edges like pearlflowers
curling into the white
sleep of night.