3 posts tagged “moon”
I take whatever chance I can to look into the sky and observe what mischief goes on there. Recently I saw an example of waywardness that could only be described as shocking.
That particular day, the sun was frosted and white. In an act of sheer lunacy, he was trying to disguise himself as the moon, his cold, glittering rival. He had discarded his burnished glow and in a fit of pique had denied the earth his radiance. He didn't feel like setting in a bath of colors - no. He was tired of his dreary afternoons, hanging alone in an empty blue arc; or of having his golden face swathed in capricious clouds, ready to take flight at the merest tickle of wind.
He envied the moon so many things - her starry handmaidens, arrayed around her like a crown floating in the sky; her opaque glow, her cool grace of pearls. He had grown weary of his heat, and the sweat on his brow. The people, so far below, would never look at him, and it was depressing. He wished he could change shapes, become a half, a quarter, a crescent...crescents which were carved out of gems and worn in ladies' hair, crescents which were embroidered into Diana's cloak as she hunted across the sky of shadows.
The sun was jealous. He wanted the moon's authority - she controlled the tides, the oceans of the world. She could catch the waves in her illuminated net and pull them onto shore; or she could demand that the water be patient and wait for her call. The moon had the feminine audacity to cross the path between sun and earth; so he would merely flare in futility around her eclipsing edges. She even exerted a strange power over human women every month.
The moon cascaded across the sky. She paraded in a shining orbit, bowing in front of a black curtain made bright by galaxies, planets and stars. The sun felt immobile and foolish, wavering slightly on his axis, condemned to be an undefined and stationary glare.
So on that day, the sun decided to make the bold move and steal the moon's pale robes, hoping that no one would notice. I did.
I've never seen an eclipse, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be watching that shadow in the sky tonight.
For one thing, I had no idea where I should look. Up certainly, but from there...where? I left work at about 6:20PM and immediately started staring into the sky, in a sort of planetary panic. Street lamps - with their globes of yellow light - and the spotlights illuminating billboards suddenly became lunar assemblies; confusing me until I had no idea where to look next.
I turned a corner and had walked some steps when I finally saw it, winking at me, from the corner of my eye. A pretty sliver of white light, escaping from the rest of the moon, partially hidden by Diana's charcoal-colored veil. It wasn't late, people were still on the street: couples walking slowly, at a post-work pre-dinner pace...and yet no one looked up.
When I had to make another turn, I did so unwillingly. I had no desire to turn my back on this celestial production, courtesy of the invisible wheels and pulleys of the blue, roaring universe.
I was walking for some time before I became aware of something following me. And to my great joy I saw the moon, its light pared down to a strip of glowing ribbon, flying at my shoulder - following me home.
She would hide behind apartments, houses and trees. She would wait - ever polite - if I waited. And when I started walking once more, I would see her, keeping a respectful distance behind me. I saw stars, cold and glittering pin-pricks in the sky, surrounding the moon as if amazed at her daring. Once, I saw her float behind a ragged cloud, and it looked as if she was melting into a gray froth.
Finally I reached my street, and I had to turn my back on my friend. I did so quickly, without looking back. I hate long good-byes.
Boyfriend pointed it out to me. A slight, butter-colored arc appearing over the Verdugo Mountains. A full, bountiful moon, introducing itself into the lavender sky. Just as the pale, gentle dusk had begun to fall, the winter moon was on the rise. Boyfriend suggested that we wait awhile, just until the moon cleared the highest ridge.
It was a quick climb. Every time I blinked my eyes, it seemed that a little more of that expansive, freshly-churned star had squeezed itself from behind the darkening mountains. In less than ten minutes it was clearly visible, stepping onto the wide, celestial stage.
I wonder who else was watching. Really, it was so slow and deliberate - an almost private act in the expanse of the purple evening sky. Yet at the same time it was unavoidable and wonderful...like watching someone smile to himself.
It was so grand, I had to applaud.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Winter Moon, the Cold Moon, the Long Nights Moon...thank you so much, it'll be here all month.
