Trapped

High in the weir
of a tree’s bare
branches
the half-moon flops
like a trapped herring
betrayed by the beautiful tide
that carried it here.
It struggles to work free
breathing harder
with every smack
of its bright body
against the shallows
and I can’t remember
the last time
I was full
of light
either.

appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of Orion