Perched at the edge of the cliff, she stood watching... waiting... watching... waiting. Tonight was the most curious of all nights, any night. Everyone had heard of falling stars

— she had even wished on one or two before — but had anyone ever heard of a falling moon? She certainly hadn’t. At least she hadn’t until tonight. Until she was staring straight at the moon, as it slowly sank toward the glittering sea far beneath the cliff. How could mankind survive without a moon? She wondered. She should probably feel panicked, she realized. Only, she didn’t. If anything, she felt unduly calm. Gradually, the light of the moon was snuffed out, as in dipped further into the sea. Finally, she heard a great splash, and all light ceased, as the full moon was swallowed completely by the sea. She sat, for a moment, blinking in the ink black void that engulfed her. Perhaps she could retrieve the moon? She thought. Slowly, she rose to her feet, and taking a deep breath... she dived into the sea.

It was like a dream, so much so that I can’t say for certain that it wasn’t. But if it was, it was more real than the pen in my hand and the paper upon which I write the memory of the most wondrous moment of my life. Who is to say it did not happen? Upon hearing it, you will want it to be so. And in the wanting, we make it so…no?

I slept fitfully that night; nothing unusual. I often do. I thought I heard whispering in the garden beneath my window. I crept from my bed and peered into the moonlit darkness below. My eyes widened in surprise at what I saw: Thousands of flickering lights falling from the sky, dancing around the garden, making a soft whispering sound as of butterfly wings fluttering in the summer wind. It was enchanting. I had to touch them.

I ran quietly from my room, down the stairs to the back door, I reached up to unlock it. It creaked. I paused, but heard no movement in the house. I squeezed through a crack in the door and ran into the garden. It was music that sang to my eyes, caressed my skin like a warm bath, filled me with a joy I had never felt. I removed my nightgown, warmed by the dancing light and took a moonbath.

Standing next to you,

Basking in your comfortable warmth,

I gazed up at the night sky

The stars glistened like jewels,

Adorning the navy sky in a cluster

I looked at the moon,

Staring into its ivory beauty

That shone down so bright

When I glanced at you,

I swore I could see the moon,

Majestic and beautiful,

Reflected in your hazel eyes

At that moment,

I wanted nothing more

Than to fall into the moon,

Drowning in its lunar embrace

Harvest Moon, Fall pumpkin-orange

Resting on the mountain, born

Into the sky of autumn night

Blanketing with rust-hued light

Cradled in the mountain peaks

Where you rise, a slivers’s peek

And slowly fill the sky and earth

With light to harvest fields and mirth

In silence you befall our face

And light upon the shadows trace

The fullness of your body, low

September’s moonlight; coral glow

Photo credit: wildlightimages.com