She cried to the moon, “I do not see you all day; do you even think of me?”

So he determined to show himself just a tiny bit more each night, just for her sake.

But when he felt she was taking him for granted, he began to hide himself, a little at a time, until he disappeared from her sight.

They continue to play this game like the capricious couple they are.

she couldn’t stay the same if she tried

it’s not in her nature to stay the same

losing pieces of herself to the universe

every day getting eaten away at

and every other day being restored

cyclical like cynical debate on the cosmos

she can’t hear you from all the way up there

she has to chip away at herself

and reinvent herself in vain

alone but for the stars

tearing apart and coming back together

spending her life chasing the largest star

the most beautiful star she ever saw

making herself smaller and bigger

to try to cheat the big blue planet blocking her sun

Waxing and waning

Never complaining

Gibbous to drained

It follows me

The apex of our triangle

Reminds me of the angel

Connected at the base

It follows she

Geometry agrees

At thrice sixty degrees

We're connected cosmically

It follows we

Straight-on or askew

Phased with and around you

Our triangle is golden

And meant to be

All the village can do is look up, count down the days, and hope that they will still be able to hold their loved ones on the last day of the cycle. Their necks ache from craning up at the sky in fear. At least this cruel method of population control has certainly fixed their postures.

The moon was only a sliver in the sky last night. Today is the last day of the cycle. Today, the silver creature comes.

The sun sets and reveals a pitch-black night. The creature comes from the skies in a storm of fire and light. It has always existed above and has always bestowed the village with its violent presence below. The black night signaled the creature’s ready descent onto the village. It spent each cycle getting into position, taking its fill of people, and returning to its orbit around the world. It was ready to feed.

The armored creature opened its great mouth and a blinding ray of light shot down, enveloping the northeastern corner of the village. Every life the light touched was instantly pulled into the creature’s mouth, never to be seen again.

The village elders had decided long ago that these deaths must be revered as glorious sacrifices. Unfortunately, this did not translate well to the evangelists who saw the sacrifices as divine rewards. They looked up not in fear, but in hopes of pinpointing the correct focal point of the creature’s pulverizing beam in their bids for canonization. They all died in agony with smiles on their faces.

The beam disappeared along with the group of grinning simpletons. The air was quiet and the sky was dark. The calm after the rapture was never quite enough to relax the goosebumps and clenched fists. The creature would be back with renewed hunger next cycle. They had another month to kiss their loved ones and hope this cycle wouldn’t be their last.

Long ago, in a time when the Earth and heavens were intertwined, a celestial love story unfolded. The Sun, radiant and powerful, was deeply in love with the Moon, gentle and serene. Their love was forbidden, for their realms were meant to be separate, and their union would upset the delicate balance of the cosmos.

But love knows no boundaries, and the Sun and Moon devised a plan to meet in secret. Each night, when darkness cloaked the Earth, they would come together, embracing in a passionate dance of love. Their celestial union illuminated the night sky, casting a soft, mesmerizing glow over the world.

However, the gods soon became aware of their forbidden love. Furious at their defiance, they punished the Moon, decreeing that she would bear the burden of their affair. From that day forward, the Moon would change shape, her appearance shifting as a reminder of her forbidden love with the Sun.

During the first phase of the moon, the New Moon, the Moon hides herself from the Earth, a symbol of her longing for the Sun. As the days pass, a thin sliver of the Moon appears in the night sky, signaling the Waxing Crescent phase. The Moon slowly grows, revealing a larger portion of herself with each passing night.

In the Waxing Gibbous phase, the Moon nears fullness, embodying the ecstasy of her reunion with the Sun. Finally, the Full Moon arrives, illuminating the night sky in all her splendor. The Moon shines bright, basking in the embrace of the Sun, her forbidden love realized.

But their time together is fleeting, for the gods' decree must be upheld. As the days pass, the Moon begins to wane, her shape diminishing. The Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, and Waning Crescent phases follow, marking the Moon's descent back into darkness and her inevitable separation from the Sun.

And so, the Moon's ever-changing shape serves as a reminder of the celestial love that once ignited the heavens. It is a myth that teaches us the consequences of forbidden love, the agony of longing, and the beauty that can arise from the most tragic of circumstances. The Moon's shifting phases capture the essence of love's eternal dance, forever inspiring poets and dreamers who gaze up at the night sky, yearning for a love that knows no boundaries.

Like the Sun, we are not Phased;

but the Moon,

is taken,

aback,

and sometimes looks away,

sometimes turns around

New

to peak over the shoulders

in quarter

profile

or about face

fully witnessing

the expose

of Life in the Streets

at Midnight

when the Devil

takes us over.

07.02.2023

Myth of Moon Shape Challenge @Ola_8

(take two:)

The Moon

holds a breath,

ex hales

~~~~~~~~~~

"It's for the sake

of the Tide,"

she says,

~~~~~~~~~~

The Moon

just likes to

make Waves

Long ago, on a remote island of great thinkers known as Krumcho, there lived a curious people who gazed upon the night sky with wonder and awe. Among them was the esteemed philosopher-scientist, Professor Aedesius, renowned for his humorous and imaginative explanations of natural phenomena.

One starry night, as Professor Aedesius reclined on his celestial observation deck, he noticed something peculiar about the moon. Its shape seemed to change from night to night, growing rounder or thinner as if playing some cosmic game of hide-and-seek. Intrigued, he set out on a mission to unravel the lunar enigma.

To his delight, he stumbled upon a hidden tome buried deep in the archives, which spoke of tiny, charming creatures known as "Lunaris Seraphis" or Moon Seraphs. These were no ordinary beings; they were moon fleas, minuscule in size, yet boasting enchanting hues that shimmered like stardust in the moonlight.

Professor Aedesius, through his expert observations and quirky sense of humor, concluded that the moon fleas migrated across the lunar landscape in a grand procession, much like the birds on Earth do in their seasonal sojourns. But instead of seeking warmer climes, these adorable moon fleas followed the dance of the seasons on the moon.

He hypothesized that the moon's surface, despite its desolate appearance, was teeming with life in the form of luscious moon moss and glittering moon dust. The moon fleas, being the charming creatures they were, couldn't resist the temptation of this celestial feast.

As they gathered in droves to feast upon the moon moss, they cast peculiar shadows on the lunar surface. These moon flea shadows, with their ever-changing shapes, were the true cause of the moon's transformation. The Professor playfully likened it to the moon's "flea-tastic metamorphosis."

In his humorous tales, he described how these lovable moon fleas formed intricate patterns, from crescents to gibbous, as they frolicked and hopped across the moon. When the moon was at its fullest, the moon fleas would throw a grand gala of light, their luminescent bodies illuminating the lunar night like a magnificent firework display.

The people of Krumcho, captivated by the Professor's comedic storytelling, embraced this whimsical explanation with delight. They would gather around bonfires, passing down the myth of the moon fleas from one generation to the next, enjoying not just the scientific reasoning but also the heartwarming charm of these tiny lunar creatures.

And so, the myth of the moon fleas and their seasonal migration continued to be told across the ages on the remote island. For the people of this land, the moon's changing shape became not just a scientific puzzle but a source of joy and fascination, connecting them to the cosmos in a way that only the imaginings of a comedic scientist could achieve.

Generations later, there was merch.

Selene horse-riding while Helios runs around the earth like a normal day. Like a brother, they annoy their siblings. As they run along he creates a shadow making the moon look smaller and smaller as they go. Selene can't help but roll her eyes and keep riding. Helios can't cover the whole moon in shadow so it goes back to full moon. And he goes and tries again. And again...forever.

she danced at nightclubs

the strobe lights

illuminating

her face

cratered and cracked

an imperfect shape

like a feather

plucked

from a phoenix

the gods placed

her in space

her face changing

the shape of it

at first a crevice

becoming fuller

gradually, like flames

becoming bigger

the phoenix rising

turning orange

the sun's reflection

on her soul

she changes

throughout the month

following the schedule

of her beloved nightclubs

and the phoenix

rising to meet the sun

As the sun set below the horizon, the enormous beast Alklha flew across the sky searching for a new treat. He was tired of trying to consume the sun, which scorched the inside of his mouth whenever he did so. Instead, Alklha hoped to feast on a different treat, not something so hot and enormous like the sun, but also not something too dim and miniscule like the stars.

Fortunately for Alklha, he didn't have to look for long. Soon, a pleasant sphere of light rose over the east, whose light casted gentle rays that mesmerized Alklha. Alklha flew up to the moon and took a bite off of it. It is the perfect balance between the sun and the moon, making it just the right feast. Over the course of the next several months, Alklha ate away at the moon until there is nothing left.

The night after, vampires emerged from their slumbers in search of fresh human blood. However, without the moon light, the vampires' powers greatly diminished, and they could not see in the dark. The vampires tried negotiating with Alklha to no avail. Of course, the vampires could still turn into enormous bats, but mere bats could not hope to beat the might of Alklha.

Thus, the vampires sought the aid of the werewolves, who had been hollering and panicking ever since the full moon started to diminish. In their bat forms, the vampires snatched the werewolves by their shoulders, flew high in the sky, and threw them at Alklha, where the werewolves tore into the giant beast and forced him to regurgitate the moon. The battle lasted for several months.

Finally, the moon was back to the sky. Still, legend said that Alklha, bittered about the loss of his meal, would return on the days of the full moon to try and devour it. On those days, humans should take heed not to look at the sky, as they might witness something so terrifying and incomprehensible, that their minds would snap and descend into insanity.