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Wednesday 25 February 2009

Earthshine

.
"the old moon in the new moon's arms."




Earthshine

for Vincent

The waxing crescent moon with furred nimbus
Of a cold milky mouse grave October
Blurring into blue dark Mare Nectaris
Endymion ringed with pearly fog
Mare Crisium and Mare Undarum
Old moon yearning in the new moon's arms
Every loose thread left dangling
At dusk Saturn rises out of the ocean
Heavenly waters so tired of waiting
Aquatic constellations swim into view
Aquarius Capricornus Pisces
Venus ascends four a.m. with the tide
White day opening not that far behind it
Swallows tossed wide around a calm sky


(Also known as the Moon's "ashen glow" or "the old Moon in the new Moon's arms", Earthshine is Earthlight reflected from the Moon's night side. A description of Earthshine, in terms of sunlight reflected by Earth's oceans in turn illuminating the Moon's dark surface, was written 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci.)

4 comments:

TC/BTP said...

A 1997 comment from Ed Dorn: "'Earthshine' must be one of the loveliest poems ever written."

Anonymous said...

I always find whenever I read something, there is one part that seems to bury itself deep within me 'Old moon yearning in the new moon's arms' such does this.
As well as the words, I too am loving that picture, you.




BTW I am not educated so I thank you for educating me. I 'Googled' Marat and Charlotte Corday, so now I know! Did you know (when I wrote what I did) I was writing about my Babies? They being my 'Mistress'.

TC said...

Thank you for letting that part of this piece nestle within you.

As to education, the best and only real school I think is life itself. I try to say that in this post (the quoted lines are from an earlier comment by an Iranian blogger who calls herself human being, she has a blog called Thus Spake the Crow but is in a hiatus now because of government repression):

What Can I Say

Education in the school of life and suffering, obviously that you have had. Wise, adventurous, gifted, sweet, funny--you can't arrange to be any of those things simply by getting a diploma. And you possess those qualities in abundance, my dear. That much I can tell already. I love hearing your words in and out of your posts.

I think "disability" is both under-rated and over-rated. (I've a history of strokes.)

And yes, I am coming to understand about the Babies.

Anonymous said...

Why does everyone thank me when I am drawn to something written? You are all nuts! It should be me doing the 'thanking' for allowing my eyes to read.

Very true. That's the part about getting 'old' I love.
Amazingly she 'follows' my 'Blog'. I have read her words and been moved by such.

Everything happens for a reason I believe and without the Rain sometimes, the Sun on his own cannot make a Rainbow!

*dance* you maybe one of the few that does! Ha!