Hibah Shabkhez - Gentle Moon, Sleep

Sleep, gentle moon, for you spent all last night,

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     Dusk to sundering dawn,

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Glazing seas to undrowning glass, with light

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     From the wings of a swan.

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The waters closed over its lovelorn song,

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     Set your seal upon them;

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And bore our capsizing boats through the long

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     Darkness to the sun's hem.

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Sleep, gentle moon, who rocked and soothed despair

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     From each floundering soul;

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And fading away before the sun's fair

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     Chariot, made us whole.

Hibah Shabkhez is a writer of the half-yo literary tradition, an erratic language-learning enthusiast, and a happily eccentric blogger from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has previously appeared in Plainsongs, Microverses, Sylvia Magazine, Better Than Starbucks, Post, Wine Cellar Press, and a number of other literary magazines. Studying life, languages, and literature from a comparative perspective across linguistic and cultural boundaries holds a particular fascination for her. Linktree: https://linktr.ee/HibahShabkhez

Artwork: Moon Cats by KC Bailey

KC Bailey is a writer, poet and visual artist from the U.K. who dreams of living in a cabin in the woods, near a serene lake, for cool contemplation. Her work has appeared in The Hellebore, Black Bough, The Tide Rises, Fevers of the Mind, Crow & Cross Keys, Amethyst Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, Odd Magazine, Feline Utopia Anthology, Dreich, Marias at Sampaguitas, CP Quarterly, Acropolis Journal, Nymphs, and elsewhere (Website: https://kcbaileywriter.wordpress.com).