I Praise the Moon, Even When She Laughs
I got drunk once and woke in Korea
with you watching over me.
Odd, how you spend seasons looking
down, and I, up. If I lived in a cloud,
could you discern me from the other
particles? Perhaps your down is
peripheral, or left, or non-directional. I can
fathom this without measuring scope,
yet I feel queasy about the possibility
of being merely one vaporous drop
coalescing among others, unnamed
and forgettable, awaiting the particular
atmospheric conditions to plummet to my
fate. As if we control our own gravities!
One winter I grilled pork tenderloin under
your gaze, unaware that the grass
around me had caught fire, and when I
unwound the hose and turned on the
faucet you laughed, as the hose wasn’t
connected and only my feet were
extinguished. Dinner was delayed
that evening, but I praised you just the same.
I look up, heedless in the stars’ grip, unable
to retrace all those steps taken to this here,
now, but still you sway above the branches,
sighing, lighting my path, returned once
again, even if not apparent at all times. Every
star signals a departure. Each is an arrival.
* * *
“I Praise the Moon, Even When She Laughs” was published in Sourland Mountain Review in January 2017.
O at the Edges 
You close this poem wonderfully.
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Thanks so much, Joanne.
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I’d guess the moon sees a good many laughable antics … perhaps one reason I enjoy gazing up at her is to catch a bit of the humor?
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I have trusted the moon with many secrets over the years. I’m sure some were amusing to her.
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No doubt, Ken. There are some I’d like to forget, but hey, I was younger then (which remains true – ha!).
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She has captured many of mine! And some of my less welcome antics, too. And yes, I can only hope to reclaim some of the shared humor.
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Yes Robert – captain moonlight…..
I’d feel queasy about the drop
and landing on a burnt block
with extinguished feet
and then fate denying my sweets
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The moon has quite the sense of humor!
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Fantastic poem, I love the story in it.
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Thanks very much! Life provides the stories…
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One thought that has been floating in my head lately is that for all of the beautiful and timeless moments that we experience in the present, it is because we had endured all the pains of the past and all of the regrets that we bear. I love that this poem brushes on that topic. It is phenomenal.
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Thanks, Charles. I believe you’re right. The pain and regrets, the disasters and failures, all serve to clarify the beauties we experience. I’m so pleased the poem resonated with you.
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