From archives – dated June 14, 2018
Somebody once asked me, what is the moon?
Does it feel our pain?
Does it observe stories as one expects it to?
I wish I’d known the answer,
I wish I’d known the truth.
Perhaps it’s filled with woe which preys
upon the heart,
perhaps it’s patron of darkness and things
that vanish with light.
What is the moon?
Perhaps it’s the cry of lovers who mourn
with solicitous night,
perhaps it’s the scent of betrayal
and of blossoms stripped to bloodless white.
Gently, does the sky disclose before whispers
from the dead
intrude, “the moon who you adore
has skeletons in the closet too,
and though dubious be these clouds,
let not mind defer from seeing through.”
Palinode
The moon is burly wood ecstasy;
a tossed up love letter which we hide from ourselves,
yes I wrote, ‘to what length surreptitious moon,’
little did I know
that merely two years later
I would write a plethora of poems dipped in its light,
absolutely naïve was I,
I knew not ache, nor cry of lovers or what it meant;
perhaps the moon is ever present
in subconscious,
part of limb and part of bone, tell me;
how else, how else would my pen have turned from grey
smoke to platinum?
Photo credits: ‘New York Street Moon,’ by Georgia 0 Keeffe
Grace hosts at dVerse and invites us to write a Palinode,
a poem in which a the poet retracts a view or sentiment
expressed in a former poem. Come join us! 💝
Posted for MTB: Palinode @ dVerse Poets Pub
I love how you went from the asking what it is to knowing a bit more of the moon. I have read many inspired moon poems and know a little bit of that ache and lament of lovers over time. Yes perhaps it is part of our muse, part of limb and bone.
I enjoyed reading both moonful poems tonight!
Thank you so much, Grace 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
(and thank you for the glorious prompt) 🌹
Wow, Sanaa – that final line! A pen ‘turned from grey/smoke to platinum!’ I love how you’ve used the prompt to explore the development of your poetic process.
Thank you so much, Ingrid 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
That was the line I liked best too.
❤️❤️❤️
I appreciate all the questions in the original piece, Sanaa, and that it’s about the moon, the way it surmises that ‘it’s patron of darkness and things that vanish with light. But I love the twist in the palinode: what appears to be an answer (the moon as a ‘tossed up love letter is an excellent metaphor), ends with a question more beautiful than the questions about the moon: ‘how else, how else would my pen have turned from grey smoke to platinum?’
Thank you so much, my dearest Kim 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Love the contrasts… I think sooner or later we all learn that the moon is simply a mirror and the only thing we can see its silver is self.
… and self is hard to trust.
Precisely! Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
I like what Bjorn said, “The moon is a mirror”. Your opposing poems work very well, and yes, most of us return to our older work, and find ways to update it, to morph into the newest strides we’ve made as writers.
Thank you so much, Glenn 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
There’s no ink like that lunar platinum ink. Beautiful reversal, Sanaa!
Thank you so much, Ron 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Perspective is everything, and I think you do a great job of showing how one’s state of mind can shift what one sees. I do like how you use the orb (the moon) as a symbol of what you’re feeling.
Thank you so much, Lisa 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
I love your two poems and the questions it asks about our inner selves, reflected in the moon. I believe it is “part of limb part of bone.” It’s the sliver we hide from ourselves! ✨🌖✨
Thank you so much, Tricia 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Fantastic, Sanaa…your pen has turned platinum indeed!!
Thank you so much, Lynn 😀 so good to see you 💄❤️
Well done
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Beautifully done Sanaa. I like your musings….
perhaps the moon is ever present
in subconscious
Thank you so much, Dwight 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
How indeed? The poetic mind tropes its thought constantly, turning one view into another, reversing itself, seeing truths from right side up and upside down. Beholding the moon means feeling twice, even three times deep, getting closer to what’s yearning and beckoning in our own heart. Well done, Sanaa, your tenacity and ferocity for writing poems that go deeper and deeper is so admirable. – Brendan
Aww gosh! Thank you so much, Brendan 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Sanaa- that ending line left me breathless with its truth and beauty.
Thank you so much, Linda 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Sanaa,
How it is you hold up the moon as a reflection of our selves in moments of time is wonderful! The faces of our naivete or cynicism or wonder or disgust: you posit them as givens and so in beautifully crafted language in conversation with the reader? Or is it the self? Or both. Impressionable communicator is the moon, as you show so magnificently.
∼🕊Dora
Thank you so much, Dora 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
An effective contrast between the uncertainty and questions about the moon in the first poem and the lovely line at the end of the palinode with the rhetorical question: ‘how else would my pen …?’
Thank you so much, Marion 😀 I enjoyed looking again at this poem, at reflecting upon the changes within ever since. 💄❤️
I like the contrast here, Sanaa, both in form and content. The rhyming and lightness of the first poem suggests a more innocent time or as you suggest , naievety, whereas the free verse of the second poem suggests a less certain time ….enjoyed these…JIM
Thank you so much, James 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️