A Poem inside Our Long-Distance Relationship
From Martha’s Vineyard
By James Miller
When I think of this lovely earth
and how a pen has given birth
to the bright language of the stars,
I know then that you are not far
when I walk out to the night’s sand
to look for planes which will soon land
as fireflies do in June. And oh to spot
your darling plane beneath the moon!
For even when your plane flies out,
there are still stars for me to count
across the circle of the sky
where I can gaze as through your eyes
to see what you will see at dawn —
such is my love, such is my song.
So let the stars become our home,
and let the magic of the ocean’s foam
bring in new waves that are as bold
as we who live this story told
by heartbeats of my distant voice.
For to wait here is my soul’s choice.
A choice whose tide is without end
as long as angels will still send
my words upon this moonlit night
where here is there, and home is flight.
James Miller lives in Aquinnah and is the author of “Shell Songs” (White Violet Press). He is also a singer-songwriter, and his music can be heard on jamesmillerarts.com.
Poets with a connection to Martha’s Vineyard are encouraged to submit poems to Laura Roosevelt at ldroosevelt@gmail.com.
