Nighttime Pastoral

In the woods, wild raspberries

are whispering in their sleep—

and below the berry’s thorny vines,

field mice curl in their nests—

and leaves turn from the crinkled brown

color of old lunch bags into dusky shadows—

and beneath the haze, veiling the face

of the moon, bats sing in Morse code—

all the while, wild raspberries

whisper in the night.

Joe Milosch has four books of prose and poetry. A Walk with Breast Cancer was selected for a San Diego City Library Local Poet Award. His book Homeplate Was the Heart & Other Stories was nominated for the American Book Award and the Eric Hoffer, Best Small Press Publication award.