Being Here

(Mid August, Vineyard Haven)

Cardinal swoops over the roof

Chickadee perches on the screen

Behind the songbirds’ companionable chatter,

Motors roar — boats and planes

Voices rise across the water

Metal masts clang in distant wakes

Smell of onions cooking drifts up from the kitchen

Pale clouds drift across the languid sky

Trees and pond stand still in windless afternoon

There’s space enough between the sounds

for each to take their turn

Later come the crickets

till the soft warm rain silences them

Though it can’t silence

the beat of party drums and tunes

and dance laughter

from the town across the pond.

©Wendy Mulhern

August 15, 2012