Because

by Sheila Petre

tonight, we attended a quiet instruction class
taken from Genesis One, the Creation,
with our son and his fellow students, a dozen,
in the basement of our private church school;
and we heard again of the inexplicable beginning
along with who man is when he does not acknowledge God:
worse than beast, and lost, and how, if we know
Him, we cannot help but see Him,
and model Him relentlessly, but with His help,

afterward, we went to Home Depot,
just the three of us, dressed well,
not talking much, in the parking lot
as we departed, I following my husband and son
with our purchase of vinyl flooring (a remnant
plus another square to finish off the second
bedroom; and, fresh out of the bright
into the darkness) I looked up to see the moon—
no clear moon, this, but with a veil
(of cloud or law) across her face—

I looked for stars also.

Sheila is surprised but grateful to find herself the mother of ten children and the author of several books.

Photography by Kenneth Godoy