PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

Sitting around a campfire recently I quickly became attuned…to the beauty of the nature surrounding me…to the trees…the stars…the moon.

The fire was truly fascinating…as I felt its warmth and watched its flames I realized with every one I’ve ever sat beside how no two fires are the same.

As I watched the flames of this fire grow higher, reaching to the sky…every now and then a flame would break away and, on its own, would fly…

I’d watch it slowly float up…up…up into the night…until it flew so high it faded from my sight.

And, as my eyes turned upward, my attention was quickly seized by the moon as she floated in the sky…smiling through the trees.

It was one of those moment is life…watching the fire…listening to the voices of family and friends…that I wished would last forever…

that I hoped would never end.

And when the flames had breathed their last…I smiled hoping the next campfire would come soon…giving me another chance to sit with family and friends…where the fire meets the moon.

Today I woke up early…as I am prone to do…before the ebony of night gave way to morning blue.

As I stepped outside to walk listening to the crickets croon…the sky was illuminated ever so softly by the light of a crescent moon.

Crescent moons always fill me with hope…it’s the classic push and pull…as some see the moon half empty…while I see it half full.

There is so much I wonder about the moon as she welcomes in each morn…I wonder if, out of her crescent-ness, a baby’s smile is born?

Does she revel in the silence of the world she oversees?

Does she know how beautiful she is as she shines down through the trees?

Is she content with her nightly routine…or…when all is said and done…has she ever dreamed what it’d be like to be a planet or the sun?

Does she realize, as I do when I step outside my door, how neither one of us is exactly the same as we were the night before?

Does she know how many lovers in her soft glow have been made to swoon…when they exchange their hearts and promise each other the moon?

Does she hear us when we thank her…the moment we become aware…how she adds enchantment to the evening…just by being there?

Perhaps that’s why I love rising so early…and listening to the crickets croon…because I don’t want to miss one morning…walking with the moon.

I must have forgotten to pull down the shade…because at a time I thought inopportune…in the early hours of the morning…I was awakened by the moon.

I tend to sleep less soundly these days…now that I’m a little older.

Perhaps that’s why I felt (or sensed) a moonbeam on my shoulder.

It was still dark when I checked the time…only half past four

so I turned away from the moonlight…determined to sleep some more.

But her moonbeams were persistent…in the window they kept peeping

so I arose when I finally realized…I was finished with my sleeping.

After the moonbeam nudged me out of bed.…

at the window I felt a gentle breeze…

and saw the moon smiling down on me

as it filtered through the trees.

I walked outside…the morning was brisk..

The night was as quiet as could be

so I sat in a rocking chair still unsure

what the moon could have wanted with me.

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness

I saw the mountains in front of me were aglow….

I realized that’s what the moon wanted…

she wanted me to enjoy her show.

She was floating in a luminous sea…a mixture of dark and light…

and only the brightest stars in the heavens…were visible in the night.

As I sat alone in the silence of the morning

watching nature’s wonders drifting by

I understood what Shakespeare meant

when he said our souls are in the sky.

And I thought what a wonderful way to wake up…

on a cool mountain morning…in June…

Tonight I’m leaving the shade up intentionally  

hoping tomorrow, 

if I’m lucky 

to be awakened, again, by the moon.

One of his favorite moments

in all the memories he’s compiling

is when he walks in the early morning

and it seems, to him, the moon is smiling.

He’s amazed how the moon’s smile

from way up there in space

can travel in an instant

and land upon his face.

He believes there’s something magical

in the way the moon shares her smile with such ease…

and for the rest of the day he’s inspired to share that smile

with everyone he sees.

I have heard it said…perhaps the rumor spread while listening to a band…

how music is one language every heart can understand.

I wonder if the key…to any tune or melody is how quickly it can make you dance

how by listening even for a moment your existence is enhanced.

I have also heard…somehow got the word…did someone take a poll?

how the moon can be like magic…magic for the soul.

I wonder if the key…to the moon at least for me is when under her for a little while

I cannot help but feel good…I cannot help but smile.

Over the years through laughter and tears…this I’ve also come to know

how water helps to nourish my heart and help my soul to grow.

I wonder if water’s key…of course it has to be…besides it’s natural appeal

Is how it makes me think…and how it makes me feel.

But something happens to me…when I combine all three…

music, water and the moon

The language of my heart and the magic of my soul are blissfully in tune.

So if you have some extra time to spend…I whole heartedly recommend

Take yourself, your wife, your son…your daughter..

and sit under the moon

listen to some tunes

and make sure you’re somewhere by the water

If I may be so bold…when you start to get a little old

you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night.

But for whatever reason…depending on the season

you may be treated to some fascinating sights.

Up last night it caught my eye…the moon up in the sky

because the light outside seemed to be flowing.

It came as a surprise to me 

when I stepped out on the porch to see

the ground, the sky and all the trees were glowing.

When I stand in the glow of the moon oftentimes I swoon

as I’m reminded of a place from long ago.

Where I was happily creating 

with friends whom I was skating

joy...at a rink…its name…Moon Glow.

I remember the freedom of the skate…sometimes I’d have a date

I remember sweating…skating backwards…having fun.

I remember gliding, falling down and then…

getting up…skating again

I remember dance contests and races I never won.

Every now and then when blinded…by the night…it’s good to be reminded

of the innocence of youth from long ago

A time of no responsibilities…

when we skated round and round with ease…

Perhaps that’s why I love the moon glows so.

And though my skates are now retired…my skating days expired

when I wake up in the middle of the night I never know…

what beauty I will see…spreading out in front of me

Like the nights when the ground, the sky and all the trees begin to glow.

On the porch last night I felt a familiar pull when I noticed through the clouds how the moon was full.

As I listened to each song the crickets sung…I remembered back to when our son was young.

As we sat on this porch at the end of the day he asked me, “Dad, why does the moon fade away?”

“I’ve seen it many times at night and noticed something is not quite right.”

“What makes the moon go out and then…what makes it come back on again?”

“Don’t worry son,” I said, “don’t feel perplexed.  “The moon that sines has not been hexed.”

“Once a month the moon is full…and we all enjoy her brilliant glow.”

“Then gradually she becomes less round..because the moon’s light bulb is running down.”

“The man in the moon does not mope or pout…he waits patiently till the moon is out.”

“Then he reaches into his overalls pocket…and pulls out a new bulb for the moon’s light socket.”

“He screws it in and there you are…the moon again is a shining star.”

I suppose as an answer to my son’s inquisition… I could have explained how the Earth. the moon and the sun all change positions

I could have told him that the moon he sees…changes relative to his geometries.

But one of the reasons for a parent’s creation…is to stimulate their children’s imagination.

And could there be a better way…than watching a full moon fade away….

And now years later I wonder as he sits on his porch listening to the crickets tune…

if he still looks for the man in the moon…

Hoping tonights the night he comes into view…

If he does he’ll be glad to know…that I do too.

I love mornings when the moon

realizing the evening is not quite done

lingers a little longer in the sky 

before ceding the heavens to the sun.

The entire campground is still slumbering this morning.

perhaps I’ve risen a bit too soon?

But it has provided me the opportunity

to listen to the moon.

There are no sounds of people

no children running around.

There is only the light of a waxing moon

and I find myself listening to the sounds…

It’s too dark to take a morning walk

so I sit basking in the moon’s glow

And I listen as, from high above, she conducts her morning music

soft and low.

The crickets who she conducted to play fast and loud last night

Allegretto….Crescendo …Prestissimo

realize the concerts almost over 

as she conducts them soft and slow.

The morning breeze and trees perform together.

There is percussion all around.

The soft cymbals of the rustling leaves…

falling branches drumbeat to the ground….

Then out of this peaceful symphony 

the moonlight settles on the wing

of one bird…and one bird only

as the moon conducts her now to sing.

And I revel in the harmony and the beauty

And feel lucky I’ve risen so soon

blessed to sit in the darkness

and listen to the moon.