Thursday, May 23, 2013

The Moon


I am all that you dream.
Mountains of amber and of antimony
shorelines of crystal
more real than all the dusty plains 
and snaking grey rilles of reality.

Adrift in the night
Your dreams are what created me
your dreams formed my every grain:
silver-edged, howl-begotten,
in ancient times eaten by a dragon
I always restored myself:
my triumph gave you the fight 
to do the same.

Once your earth and I were one.
But violence gave birth to me:
tore me away, destroyed our unity.
Now I circle, collecting dreams,
myths, monsters, goddesses,
maidens more beautiful than words,
heroes and hunters of the night.

Neither wolf, nor lover, nor madman
could miss me.
They gaze upon my silver
to howl, or to love,
or to dream with greater passion,
or to take comfort
in the refuge of a small insanity,
or just to go beyond.

I give them wings
I give them longing
I give them my reassuring constancy.
Still a monthly meal for a dragon
I fight my way free.





Painting: Gazing at te Moon by Jan Sam




6 comments:

  1. Just gorgeous. This is a like a dream itself - mysterious and haunting.

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  2. Sweet Kristen, thank you for such a spontaneous and heartfelt reaction. It always makes me happy and I am sure we both know how to howl to the moon!

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  3. I love the whimsical imagery of this poem! There seems to be a connection between dreams, imagination and the moon. As a young man I lived for a couple of years in a flat overlooking the port city of Kobe (Japan) and the pacific ocean that stretched beyond it. I used to look up at night sky enthralled by the haunting beauty of the moon as she gently made her path between the clouds and thought that this is the very same moon that the ancient pharaohs of Egypt, the medieval kings and queens of Europa, the emperor of China, the priest/astronomers of the Mayans used to gaze upon, and yet she was equally accessible to the poorest among us to gaze up in awe and wonder at this beautiful and enchanting goddess.

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  4. As you say Joseph, the moon has always graciously received the dreams, wishes and desires of all us mortals who have gazed upon her face. But she is also bidding a slow and soft farewell as she drifts ever farther away from us in her orbit. David tells me that in the age of dinosaurs the moon was a third larger than we see her now because she was so much closer then to the earth.

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  5. I am without words.....but full of spark...energy..feelings..emotions..magic..I am awed by your words....bewildering my soul! This completely took me away to a place I know within and travel.....this was magnificent! Blessings Emma..this has a special place now in my heart...a gorgeous and thrilling feast to absorb and read!
    Beautiful!
    Victoria

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  6. Dear Victoria, now I feel almost without words at your reaction! Thank you so much - but I also am aware that inspiration is something that is shared between us. Perhaps we are both a little 'moonstruck' - but in a good way!
    Much love!

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