“Originality is undetected plagiarism.”
William Inge
Tonight
the full moon,
that old fooler
burns orange
as it rises
over the valley
honest with shadows,
then yellow
with light borrowed
from the more gifted sun.
The moon is stone cold,
with nothing to give
but the reflection
of another’s
brilliance.
Yet,
on this beautiful night,
lit with yesterday’s radiance,
I forgive the moon its plagiarism
as the earth has forgiven me
for all I have borrowed
and reflected as my own.
2012