The Long Moon Calls

Wet-footed down the homeward path,
The fishermen with rods and boxes trudge.
The trees begin their evening silhouette.
Out of a wilderness of reed and mud,
A swan surprises me by being there.
I’m shocked by beauty. Below the bridge he drifts
And, as I lean to look, on strong swift wings
He rises, like a god, to skim the water.
The long moon calls, and, one by one, the stars
Light candles in the branches of the night.

John Grillo is an actor and writer. Best known for appearances in Brideshead Revisited and Blackadder, his plays have been published by Calder and Boyars, his poems have been published in Outposts and The Interpreter’s House and his stories have been read on BBC Radio Four.