The Moonlight

As I sit upon this hill tonight
The grass begins to soak my pants
I take it in, this still, calm sight
And slowly notice all the plants.

The trees grow tall down by the river
Absorbing moisture night and day
A breeze comes up and makes me shiver
It also makes the branches sway.

I came here to escape the town
I needed a place of solitude
It’s hard to think when you’re running around
and stuffing your face with too much food.

The worries of life are all too near
The lights of the town shine bright behind me
I can’t be alone even way out here
I notice a couple on a bench beyond me.

I look down at them from on top of the hill
I wonder what their memories recall
The river’s fast, but they are still
And I realize they’re not even thinking at all.

They don’t seem to have any worries or fears
They must have tuned out all the chaos at home
This nation of ours has seen many years
But the enemy, now at our doorstep, has come.

Two spies were caught not fifty miles from here
The folks in town are all edgy and nervous
The kids at the college have been drinking more beer
while others have gone to sign up for the service.

The life of a student is the life for me
To study away without fearing the Draft
Sometimes I wonder what good’s a degree
if tomorrow we’ll only be wiped off the map.

We should have seen it coming
We should have expected it
Idleness – so becoming!
But now we’re regretting it.

Behind me, the lights of the town go out
I’ll be walking back home in the darkness tonight
The enemy won’t see us if there’s no light about
but I can’t find my way when there’s not any light.

I decide that I’ll wait ‘till the moon comes out
I’ll be able to see with the full moon so bright
The couple I noticed are now making out
I try to ignore their kiss under the starlight.

It’s hard to find a place where I can just be alone
Out here on the grass with the smell of the dirt
I lie down on my back and let out a short groan
The dew from the grass just soaked right through my shirt.

Things don’t always work out just the way we expect
That’s something I learned a long time ago
I wish that couple would leave - no disrespect
Then again, I don’t really want them to go.

I’ve seen enough people leave
From my life and the world
I’ve seen enough people grieve
All their strife makes me old.

I remember the days of the great earthquake
- Everyone said it was the end
Even now the bones in my body still shake
But we still had plenty of time left to spend.

I rise and stare out over the horizon
- Past all of the mist in the trees
There’s nothing really to focus my eyes on
So I breathe and enjoy the soft breeze.

Maybe everything will turn out alright
- Maybe we’ll beat the stakes
Maybe I won’t have to go out and fight
and die like the lot in the quakes.

I look up as the clouds begin to part
and the light of the moon shines through
Coming up over the horizon, it gives me a start
and the shouts of the couple do too.

They stare at the moon from their quaint little seat
And from top of the hill so do I
Now we are certain that everything’s beat
- Covering the moon – blood-red dye!

For a moment I thought there was maybe some hope
of raising a family in this nation so old
But now I am seeing from a much bigger scope
It’s the end of our nation – and also the world!