halo effect

ten degrees below zero at 1am

on a late january night

the air is calm chilled

like a walk-in deep freeze

no movement

just breath drifting out of my mouth

the moon is high overhead

mostly full

a shimmering ball in the clear dark

no disturbance

tomorrow’s headlines already heading my way

stacked in the Bangor Daily News delivery truck

the driver watching the road and

not the night sky

as I look up

I see a white ring around the moon

expansive 

no beginning and no end

motionless

circling a luminous rock in the night