She perches on the rail,
kicking her feet out over the water.
Smiling, she says
‘Sing to me a sad song.’
So I croon her a tune of Count Basie’s-
‘Don’t the moon look lonesome,
shining thru the trees.
Don’t the moon look lonesome,
when your baby packs up to leave.’
And in a fit of giggles, she almost lands in the river-
Steadying herself, she whispers
‘Look the buildings are sleeping.’
Standing quietly, arms folded and eyes shut tight,
they lean against each other for support
like old horses in a stable.
‘But the river never sleeps.’
‘No, she doesn’t – she holds each bank in her strong embrace,
and sings her own songs to the sleeping city.’
‘Now, its your turn to sing.’
“Moon river, wider than a mile…’
I perch on the railing, precariously between
wakefulness
and dreaming
‘I’m crossing her in style one day’
I drift into sleep,
listening to the moon
as she sings to the river
and their quiet laughter laps onto the shore.
*** The beautiful watercolor is ‘moon over basel’ by Claudia Schoenfeld, who has graciously allowed her artwork to be used as inspiration for this weeks dVerse Poetics prompt. Thank you , Claudia!
thecourseofourseasons 
Delightful, and greatly enjoyed – thank you and well done.
Yours sincerely,
Ole Man River
Reblogged this on Shadowleaves on Lake Ann.
Weave in Moon River and of course you have a classic and a very pretty poem.
adore “they lean against each other for support
like old horses in a stable.”
The moon leaves us to wonder. There’s so much romantics in seeing it in the night! Nicely!
Hank
Wow, this was one of my favorites for this prompt! Everything about it is beauty and charm and magic. Count Basie was swimming in my ears reading it.
I absolutely loved this passage:
Now this is one of my favorites of yours! I love, love, love it!
I love how you introduced a couple crooning Moon River…clever and beautiful at the same time..
You have written a beautiful poem Kathleen, I did very much enjoy the imagery you created. Well done.
I love them leaning on each other like two horses in a stable………love the old tunes……love the quiet laughter lapping the shore/………
lovely…I think I’m ready to drift of myself…what a lovely atmosphere you have created…
A beautiful piece!
I completely agree, this is a wonderful, sweet moody poem.
I love singing about the moon ~ Enjoyed the lyrical scene and conversations Kathleen ~ Hey, we choose the same picture ~
That is a beauttiful write to a beautiful place.
I enjoyed the dialog, the presence of the moon and the tone in your poem, Kathleen. Great choice of painting!
I cannot imagine anything more blissful than singing with the moon.. the way your dialogue plays out. the way this dream fades out .. I love it
oh i love that whole part with the sleeping buildings so much.. how they stand quietly, arms folded – leaning against each other… just love the whole feel of comfort that comes with it…also the river and the singing of the song…
I am so happy you liked this, Claudia – thank you again for letting us use your lovely paintings as our muse – smiles
Very romantic – and very well suited to this picture! I like the contrast between him and her, the melancholy and the mischievous.
what a cool write….the sleeping buildings leaning against each other….smiles…that is cool…but yes the river never sleeps…always moving on…cool magic in this…
this is a beautiful piece of dream….
What a peaceful way to drift off to sleep…listening to the moon singing to the river over the beautiful city of Basel!
This is such a beautiful piece.