Soft jewels in the dark
as I gathered rosemary
for root vegetables

I touched their shine
to see if they were water
and felt their smooth leaf

Ah, they are oregano
glowing with perhaps a hint of moisture,
grown up among the fragrant brittle sprigs
catching little pools of moonlight
mute and low

celebrating what I’d hardly seen —
a gift of the moment
offered, on this year’s last night
to me.

©Wendy Mulhern
December 31, 2017