George Bailey Lassos the Moon
By Fisher Sexton
               -For Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life

I never knew you were so beautiful
until tonight.
Your bouncy golden thread
wild chestnut eyes whisper
take me far away….
I can see the wonders of the world in those eyes.
Behind them I can see
why a man would build a mile-long bridge—
so he could name it after you.

Let’s walk tonight,
like it’s the last walking we’ll ever do
and let’s smell the flowers.
The sweet hydrangeas here,
across from the Granville House,
sweet scenery I would’ve given up by tomorrow
if not for tonight.
Now, I could never forget it
or your pale face’s light

at the promise
of pulling down the moon—
and I swear I’ll do it.
Like a buffalo wrangling ranch-hand,
I’ll throw a rope around the moon,
turn it to a pendant to hang
around your neck,
and you will set the tides with your chest
and the tides will always carry me back to you.