Moon Series 2016 – Day 16
Mon, 10/17/2016 – 13:09 — ToadSoda
Full Moon — 9:36 p.m.
I crane my neck to see a glimpse
through watercolor clouds
but sometimes the full moon
has too much competition
as the Earth pulses onward
partying in technicolor
beneath a dull, washed out sky
its beauty forgotten
as we’re dazzled by headlights
bouncing from a river of black pavement
that ties our terrestrial places together
neat packages beneath a messy sky
We assume the moon’s predictable
turning its phases on and off
courting our gaze on clear nights
harvest moons, super moons, hunter’s moons
we label them like spices
forgetting the moon is dependent on the sky
while we turn our attention
to the proliferation of lights
making the Earth glow, an electric pulsing strobe,
intent on keeping the night away
Moon Series 2016 – Day 15
Sun, 10/16/2016 – 23:38 — ToadSoda
Waxing Gibbous – 8:40 p.m. (Hunter’s Moon)
You’d think the moon full if you saw it
above the shadowy canopy of autumn gold
never missing the hairline sliver
that marks the moon’s completion
I know it isn’t full
as it ratchets toward the pinnacle
and I feel myself deflate,
already missing the anticipation,
of the moon’s finale,
already feeling sad
at the cold truth of things
the waning moon, just two days away,
will mark an inevitable creep towards darkness.
Moon Series 2016 – Day 13
Sun, 10/16/2016 – 14:19 — ToadSoda
Waxing Gibbous 10:30 p.m.
I didn’t stop long enough
to think about the moon
It was just a snapshot
suspended far above my life
which keeps moving me around
like a pinball, bumping
against the sides of something real
never lingering for more time than it takes
to catch my breath
tonight the moon only exists
to remind me of what I’m missing
it’s hard not to hate it
when I know I should stop and pause
when I yearn for the luxury of burdens lifted
when I look up at the sky
remembering a time when I was sure
it was put there just for me.
There’s nothing more painful
than the disappearing moon
Moon Series 2016 – Day 12
Thu, 10/13/2016 – 22:01 — ToadSoda
Waxing Gibbous 10:00 p.m.
The sky holds the night with absolute clarity
having pulled the clouds back
like wisps of knotted curls
they frame the moon
her bright face young and clear
as close to the finale as you are
I dread the completion of this cycle
though I know the full moon must come
I fear a host of threats might blot it out
smearing the sky with a veil of thick denial
as if to say fullness isn’t for you
Moon Series 2016 – Day 10
Thu, 10/13/2016 – 11:30 — ToadSoda
Waxing Gibbous 8:31 p.m.
It’s a dragon-eye moon
nestled in a bed of black velvet
our own narcissism,
dim as faded youth,
pales in comparison
as the sky plays along,
setting the darkness deeper
turning up the chill
while my heart thumps
at the curtain of cobweb clouds
and the rustle of something
used to the moon
perhaps wondering why I’ve chosen
to forgo warm light and wine
for a frozen nose
and my own crystal breath
billowing out,
a questionable backdrop,
to an unforgiving moon.
Moon Series 2016 – Day 7
Mon, 10/10/2016 – 14:07 — ToadSoda
Waxing Crescent – 8:40 p.m.
The moon’s face shines
with reflected light,
flat and sharp as shrapnel,
while the cold air whispers
its promises of naked winter
There’s no silence this time
only the busy noises
of a young night
as cars exhale,
devouring the pavement
while the happy chirp of crickets
play another symphony
I sit close to all of it
beneath that crowded sky
feeling, for once, as the moon must
distant and aloof,
a buoyant observer,
I can’t see the dust
that must be caked
in every crater and groove
the moon looks bright and new
creeping towards its fullest spectacle
while the Earth grows older
Moon Series 2016 – Day 6
Fri, 10/07/2016 – 13:23 — ToadSoda
Waxing Crescent — 8:37 p.m.
This same spot
where the old table was
where we sat, peering up,
hoping to see it,
counting stars,
wondering at the thick, painted sky,
black as soot,
black as sleep,
black as the stone hearth,
its embers, long dead.
but this night,
this cold, clear, cloudless night,
yields no moon
I doubt it even exists
though I saw it glimmer, a wink,
between a clutch of leaves
(their story almost over)
I search the sky
as if each star is a gift owed to me
a found treasure
plucked from the dark canopy of space
to wear at my throat
Moon Series 2016 – Day 4
Fri, 10/07/2016 – 13:12 — ToadSoda
Waxing Crescent 8:34 p.m.
The ashen sky disappoints
resting heavily above the too-dark night
with nothing left to show me
no more surprises
not even an echo of the moon
and that’s not enough
because somewhere, not far away,
people luckier than me
are gazing up from cozy porches
and backyard bungalows
at the bright yellow crescent
a smile for charmed souls
while I sit in a lawn chair
made for summer moons
and weep over the dying leaves
trying to imagine
a thousand moons
like string lights
swinging from the clouds
Moon Series 2016 – Day 1
Sun, 10/02/2016 – 13:21 — ToadSoda
Waxing Crescent: 6:33 p.m.
October stakes its claim
on the steel clouds,
drawn so tightly over the black moon
which waits, motionless,
too close to the sun.
I saw the rolling fog, a shroud,
dimming the aging day,
promising nothing more
than a cloaked moon
giving me permission
to forget about the sky.
Autumn’s cold stare
is a warning,
turning the leaves gold
plucking them from their perch
before they’re fully aware
that the fierce brightness of summer
is already gone.