Matins
in the indicative dark
somber houses
stand preoccupied
by moonlight
implicating the elms
upon their surfaces
so many thin arms
raised in hallelujahs
inking hard shadows
Lauds
the stars unload
their narratives
of dust
the moon a prayer
its fullness exuding
light that shines
from arid plains
craters awash
in tranquility
Prime
and the ascension
of the planets
swift wheeling
constellations
crosses the sky
to empty out
the geography
of night into
the visible
Terce
all over town
the drift and sheer
of daylight untangles
down from a poplar
on the scatter of wind
disseminating white
angels that clutch
gray seeds
of hosannas
Sext
among the clatter
of dishes and daydreams
served up at the diner
ghostly steam
slowly unfurls
above coffee
cups lifting
black votives
of thirst
Nones
a buzzard picks
at the flesh
of a pigeon
as cars circle
the village green
and the gorging
still rapture
of hungry raptor
quietly feeding
Vespers
toward evening
toward night a
setting things
down toward
evening the wide
open spaces
traffic
exhaling its
halo of sighs
Compline
and the moon
again risen
traces its arc
to excavate
the quiet of
houses unloading
their amber
soft veils
printing the lawns
Peter Filkins’ fifth book of poems, Water / Music, will be published by Johns Hopkins early 2021. He teaches writing, literature, and translation at Bard College.
