by Nancy Browne

Created on: June 20, 2008

Fictitious Moon

One night
In childhood
I played a game
With winters mystic moon
It seemed frozen in the sky
As I watched
And stared with dreamy eyes
I saw images spring forth
Changing with every blink
Its face above the frosty field
So white, so bright
Brought to me
A giant bent with weight
I saw a tear fall too
Dropping into darkness
I looked for the man in the moon
But he wasn't there

Instead, I saw sparkles
As they moved in circles
And the vision of a fountain
Spraying water here and there
A white blaze danced
Around the edges
Throwing light to the middle
And out again
Tilting my head
Came a new formation
A silver chain, piano keys,
Pebbles and tiny twigs
There were vague outlines
Too many to count

I could trace scanty images
Beams and soft shadows
The glow of a winding path
Dots of black and fleecy pillows
With my hands
I covered my eyes
Counted to ten
And looked once more
The moon held me in trance
Moving ever so lightly
It was Godlike in play
Giving me the power
To witness its immortal beauty

It made my heart
Skip a couple beats
When I saw a spider web
And to a greater degree
A frost bitten pair of lips
It was an exciting game
Deceiving me
With a monstrous ledge
A cocoon in perfect form
Jewels that glittered
Straight black lines
Grey swirls
Drops of white
Like magic everything
Would cross and change so quickly

In the next room
I ran to wake my older brother
Come quick, I said
The moon is playing lots of tricks
"Go back to sleep," he grumbled
I tried to tell him
Of the many things I saw
He laughed out loud
"Imagination is a funny thing
Now go back to bed," he said
And dream make-believe
And leave the moon alone

I raced back to my bedroom window
And with twilight vision I noticed
The moon indeed played another trick
And had disappeared

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