FULL MOON ON TOP OF A CHAMPAGNE PALM'S TIP

once in a blue moon

once
one must see only shadows
of dragonflies
going crazy above
the lilies

once
one must reflect on the
the beauty of the black
night above the foul smell
of the brackish water

once
one must stop and listen
and be shaken
by the sound of the quakes
of the beating
of the heart

once
one must be dead only to
realize
that once there was life
and it was precious
and it will not come again
to remedy the loss
to compensate
for what is irretrievable