Molly Frederick’s most recent poem to appear here was “Planes of Being” (August 2017)

Detainments
By Molly Frederick

What draws us in, what attracts the eye,
is just this—
the staying moment:
A white cloud floats in midnight’s
clear sky; a rustic wooden gate
is brushed by light, showing tree and
seasoned wood as one.
A dry-laid stone wall, well-crafted,
depicts every stone magnified by rain.
One tiny tan oak leaf, lies face down
on the forest’s loamy path.
(An oak tree’s image, captured
in a single leaf.)
The staying moment, it could be ours.
It could leave us larger than we are.