Some Problems Concerning Translation Of A Single Language Into Itself Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

when I say 'rose' you read it in a different colour
when I breathe 'sky' you think it is full of light but
it's a nocturne that I only

heard
all my life.

what if I wrote it's a midnight rainbow,
midnight's rainbows causing me delight
though I live nowhere near the Northern Lights

and you do.
you'd fill in the blanks, wouldn't you?
and is it true like they always sing:

we see
the same moon.
do we?

when the moon shines to herself
so many names.

mary angela douglas 13 december 2015