Writing by Moonlight
There is something softly romantic about
Writing by moonlight
The bright silvery-white gleam
illuminating the world with the brightness of day
accompanied by the cool tranquility of night.
A sharp shadow falls across the notebook page,
Perfectly outlining the shape of my curled fingers and sleek ballpoint pen,
a shadow meeting its mirror
exactly where the flow of words fronts its way across the page.
The vast array of crickets in the acres and acres
surrounding this bare exposed mountain view
provide a background drone to the symphony of night.
A flying pair of six-legged maestros attempt musical harmony near my ear,
buzzing not quite a perfect fifth apart.
Finally, the cry of a loon breaks the quiet,
echoing over the silver hills in front of me.
I sense the small feeling on my arm
of a mosquito going in for a bite,
and a quick light blow sends it flying away.
The small breeze of a mild wind gust rolls through,
bringing in a sweet smell from somewhere far away,
carrying off the bugs and ruffling my hair a bit.
The moon is bright, illuminating the land like the daytime sun,
which set exactly as the moon rose over opposite mountains this past evening.
Colors are visible, though shadows are long
as the moon sits just above southern mountains.
Though this great light rules the sky,
stars have still come out to share room on the dome of the heavens,
forming constellations and figures above;
modern-day images made with light hundreds of years old.
My love rests peacefully under the moonlight,
smiling in her beauty sleep just a short distance away.
Little does she know of a poem being written especially for her
under the gleam of bright heavenly bodies, so fitting.
It is much cooler now than during the day,
even if not darker.
A chill runs through the air,
and I pull the folds of my sleeping bag in more tightly for warmth.
Closing the notebook, I put it down for one last look at the sky.
Shortly, my head will nod and I will drift off to sleep again.
There is something softly romantic about writing by moonlight.
-WBT, 2006
"Writing by Moonlight" ©2006 W. Ben Towne. Conditions for use:
Do not sell any part of this poem, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances.
You may reproduce and distribute this poem freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement.
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