I ran outside that night,
so full of life and excitement.
Imagined your surprise and thought I would see
a grimace,
a crease,
a worried frown.
Someone finally broke through.
Landed. Slammed into you
and stepped into your heart.
Your cold, aloof self,
finally
breached.
And yet I saw nothing new.
Your face unchanged,
seeing me only
as one of many who adore you,
who live and stare each night
beneath your remote reserve.
Thirty-plus years have passed.
I arise more slowly to morning sun,
less sure of my footing,
skin aged and sallow.
I still await the end of day
to feel your face upon my soul.
I peer through clouds within my eyes
and those that skirt your skies.
For I have loved you all these years
even as you appear
and disappear
and appear again.
You my love, care not.
You seem to ignore what I crave.
All I seek these many nights
is some recognition,
some sign,
that we have been with you.
Written for Tuesday Poetics at dVerse where Grace asks us to write about the moon as if the moon is a person – flesh, sweat and blood. “Describe him or her, and tell us about your moon.”
On July 20, 1969, I was 22, a graduate student at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. I’d heard about “the man in the moon” since I was a young child. You can “see” his face in the full moon, made by shadows and craters visible to the naked eye. On that July night at 9:56 PM, I watched my tiny portable television screen as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon. I remember staring in awe and then immediately running outside, standing on the sidewalk and looking up at the moon, as if I could see some sign up there! And I remember thinking: tonight there really is a “man in the moon.” Dverse opens at 3PM EST. Come join us!
lillian the home poet 
Oh that memory.. that day it almost haunts me, in the sense that it broke the magic… Love how you actually talk to the moon…
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Thank you, Bjorn! Do you remember what you were doing at that moment in time? 🙂
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I might have been asleep and watched it afterwards… I was too young to really understand it fully..
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I just love how you used the 2nd person in this, Lillian. I remember that moon landing clearly. I was caring for someone in a hospital room in Toledo Ohio at the time. We watched, holding our breath. Some memories are etched on our old brains.
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…our young old brains…😉
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Hi Lillian. I am so glad you took us back to that night long ago that the men walked on the moon for the first time and how you talk to the moon. I was so amazed that men were walking on the moon. I too tried to see them, to take out the telescope and look to see.
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There were many people out on my street…all looking up!
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That’s some love affair you’ve had with the man in the moon, Lillian. Lovely!
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There’s actually two songs my mother sang to me every night when I went to bed — and I’ve done the same with my grandchildren: School Days and My Sweet Heart’s the Man in the Moon. 😊
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The one I remember my grandfather singing to me is: ‘Lulla lulla lulla lulla bye bye. Do you want the stars to play with. Or the moon to run away with…’
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And he could sing like Bing!
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We all know where we were that day…I in a tiny apartment and a new baby. Your poem is lovely in its entirety.
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Thank you, Kathy! 😊
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Being a huge fan of the moon myself, I simply love your longing for the moon..❤ Sigh.. it feels like an actual conversation between two people.. especially when the emotion in the lines ‘You my love, care not. You seem to ignore what I crave’ is so vivid and strong..❤ Beautifully executed.
Lots of love,
Sanaa
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Soooo glad you enjoyed — love your sigh! 🙂
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A lovely & fun romp, indeed. Our poems are bookends, with unrequited ardor; but for me she is Luna, not Larry. I watched the moon walk on a tiny B&W
TV–my mother scoffed–just a stunt, an episode of TWILIGHT ZONE.
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Coming over to read yours in a minute — pouring my evening chardonnay right now 🙂
Ah….mine was a Singer portable tv (yes, in those days they made televisions as well as sewing machines) and was tiny tiny — maybe a 14″ black and white screen? 🙂 Glad you enjoyed, Glenn.
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Its funny how we all see the moon as unchanged and aloof even if we are so excited to land on its cold heart. Your ending lines are my sentiments as well. Enjoyed this one Lillian!
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I’m told the flag still stands there … can you imagine?
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The moon and I have quite a thing going, also, Lill. 😉
I LOVE this:
“I still await the end of day
to feel your face upon my soul.”
And your photo is gorgeous.
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Late to my reading and postings — having taken some days unplugged. So nice to see your thoughts here….glad you enjoyed!
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This is beautiful.
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Thank you so much, Shawna!
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Enjoyed reading this a lot…flowing…well-written…with a beautiful line of thought….
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Oh….thank you so much for your kind words. Truly appreciated!
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I was seventeen that summer that the astronauts landed on the moon. I’ll never forget sitting around the television watching it all unfold…walking on the moon! Unbelievable to see it from our living room. Thanks for the memories, Lillian.
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It was a remarkable event!!!
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Narcissist
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hmmmmm……
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Beautiful!
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So glad you enjoyed, Ayala!
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That event was amazing and I love your poem to the moon about it.
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I think many many people ran out to see the moon that night 🙂
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Wouldn’t that have been something of the moon had changed his expression!
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Oh yes…..maybe a wink? 🙂
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Lillian…this is so beautiful. You really grasped the prompt. I was captured by your verse, and the whole poem is just wonderful. I loved the ending! I remember that time in 1969. I think we all expected something to happen!
Jane
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Thank you, Jane. I am so late to replying — have been off-line for a few days and just getting back to reading and posting. So very nice to read your thoughts here.
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The day I decided I wanted to be an astronaut, in spite of my fear of heights and air travel! Another “remember when/ where were you” moment! Well done Lillian!
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Thank you! I’m sure the moon that night was an inspiration for many 🙂
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Moon flight 101 to Iraq
war chest medals beat
to the synch of tribal instinct
for revenge and acquisition of
more territory for subsistence.. Space
race with Russia in ’69.. i wasn’t fooled
for even a second in ’01.. as i can see the lies
straight through the eyes of administration faces
and feel of talk back then.. and if that lie
could be hidden in the beginning of
the Internet age..
i must wonder
how far
tin
cans
can fly
to moon back
then.. i am no conspiracy
theorist.. i’ve access to all the Snopes
reports now.. that say we went.. then..
but there IS A intuitive feeling for
A BS meter that went up in ’01..
that comes back now
and then..
and wonders
how deep the lies
of tribal instinct can
go in mutual support
and top keeping secret ways
in lieu of prison sTiLL to hide
the biggest military secrets..
considered what it takes to
keep a country strong..
in a country already
shamed
in lies of
past..
but oh.. in
another decade..
would anyone even
care if it was a lie.. considering
what we have fallen to as a Moon
of politics that IS a lie.. the iSREAL
moon cannot tale a lie.. but iN Moon
of human politics.. the Moon truthers
may be at least
partially
correct
on this one..
as lies of faux moons
and news hold old.. well..
i don’t believe in wasting
another penny on space travel..
there are too many folks that don’t
worship the gift of a blue orb moon here.. enough..
that lives more than rocks and rocks of old-lit nights..
yeah.. but sure the moon IS A romance i’ll never leave2..;)
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Thanks for your thoughts here, my friend!
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Ha..
They
Kinda
Went
Down
A
Rabbit
Hole too..;)
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beautiful connection Lillian
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Just getting to my replies now — have been “unplugged” for a bit. So glad you enjoyed!
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What have man achieved by going to the moon? Bragging rights, perhaps and maybe better ways to launch things into space. (and this is spoken like a true non-scientist). But I can imagine the exhiliration of the landing. Now, I am thinking, the moon should have been left alone in her silence and mystery.
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Ah….I think others share your thoughts as well.
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Wonderful job expressing to the moon how special he is to you. And I love your story / explanation, too.
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Thank you, Linda! 🙂
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Great poem.
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Late to posting my replies….unplugged for a bit. So glad you enjoyed!
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Late, late, late for commenting…sorry
Oh how I loved this….your wonder and loyal adoration for the moon throughout the years. Especially like the personification in the second stanza. “your cold aloof self, finally breached”.
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Thanks, Mish. Not to worry about timing. Have been “under the weather” for about 5 days and finally went to doc yesterday – antibiotics started last night. So I’ve not been reading, missed posts etc. Doing poetics today – starting finally to feel a bit more energetic. 😊
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