Monday, May 24, 2021

Blood Moon Rising



image from Wikipedia.com

 Blood Moon Rising

“We are all like the bright Moon, but we do have our 

darker side.”--Khalil Gibran.


There it is on a warm Spring night, near the end of

May; colossal, humongous, surreal. It is so bright,

that on such nights, I have walked in the woods

without a flashlight. Lunatics, poets, and bipolar

types act out during a blood moon. Werewolves

sprout fangs and claws, while vampires stay within

the shadows.Wild animals get skittish when night

becomes day, just as I felt in Louisiana when it

became very dark and silent at noon, while the car

radio blared a tornado warning; uneasy, off-kilter.


I’m not a selenophile, but as I understand it, the

moon is about one quarter the diameter of the

earth. In an odd celestial dance, it rotates as we

do, and it’s a bit shy about its backside, constantly

facing us, like a performer in a Greek mask. The

dark side is a place of legends and mysteries.


Between 1969-1972, America’s Apollo Program

landed twelve human beings on the lunar surface.

This pissed off the Russians and the Chinese so 

much, no one has left a human bootprint in the moon

dust for 47 years. Many of us thought we would have

a colony on the moon by now. With all the bored

billionaires out there playing with their space toys,

I hope there will be men on the moon before 2044,

when I turn 100.


Wolves and simpletons

howl at the moon, while I just

toss it hot air kisses.



Glenn Buttkus


Haibun

 

Posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub

16 comments:

Ken / rivrvlogr said...

Love that closing haiku!

said...

“I just
toss it hot air kisses“

Aww, I love that ending so much. <3

Frank J. Tassone said...

Exquisite! You touched on every lunar reference worth mentioning, Glenn! Excellent!

RedCat said...

I grew up dreaming about moon colonies. That was before I learnt we rather make war with each other than explore the galaxy. Never thought we'd have to put our hopes on billionaires playing around.

Your closing Haiku is perfect!

Ron. Lavalette said...

Oh, c'mon, Mr B; don't try to convince us that you're not aware of the Secret Moonbase that's been there since, um, well, I'm not allowed to say When, but (trust me) it's been a while. No big secret anymore. But I suspect you knew that & you're just playing naïve.

Liked your haibun & esp loved the haiku closer!

Dwight L. Roth said...

I lvoe your idea of tossing hot air kisses to the moon. It is very eerie being out at night in the bright full moon. Here's to 2044 Glen. Well done! Maybe by then they can plant you on the moon! :>)

Susan said...

Embracing the moon is a sign of total compatibility with the natural world. Howling doesn't do a bit of good... we all ought to know we're not 'in charge'. Your haiku was wonderful! ;-)

robkistner said...

I like that you went for the blood moon aspect of May. Strong write here brother. I be one of those lunatics, crazy for the moon!

JadeLi said...

"Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs" in the silver embrace of Miss Bella Luna.

Kim M. Russell said...

It’s fun and deliciously dangerous to walk in the woods without a flashlight – even if the moon is ‘colossal, humongous, surreal’ – there is always that imaginative edge, the thought of lunatics, other poets and wolves. I especially love what you wrote about the moon being ‘a bit shy about its backside, constantly facing us, like a performer in a Greek mask. The dark side is a place of legends and mysteries.’ And your haiku is stunning, Glenn.

Ingrid said...

I love the lighthearted dismissiveness of your haiku, and the idea of the moon being shy of its backside...brilliant!

Kerfe said...

I like the way you always incorporate history into your verse. That said, I hope we never colonize the moon. We've done enough damage already.

Jane Dougherty said...

I wonder how long it will be before we can see with the naked eye the mess our 'men on the moon' will make.

Marion said...



I like the idea of the moon being a performer, always keeping us in its line of sight - lest we don't behave ourselves. (Am I the only one who had to look up selenophile?). Brilliant read.

brudberg said...

The moon is a mirror for the sun and for us... maybe that's why we are so fascinated of it, as it really just show us.

Merril D. Smith said...

I'm afraid what humans on the moon might do to it.
I love the insouciance of your haiku and those hot air kisses!