The Moon's Most Beautiful Moment

Look up! It's more than just the moon shining back at you

Photo by Skyler Ewing

I probably shouldn’t be as excited as I am about this. The moon is up there every night, or day, even if it’s not visible, it’s still there. So, why so pumped? Simple answer: I’m a moon guy.

It might be a cliche. In fact, I’m certain it is. But I love the moon and this week we get to experience a blue supermoon, a celestial happening combining two events: the supermoon, which is when the moon is closest to the Earth, and a blue moon, the third of four full moons in a single season. We do not expect to have another occurrence like this for more than a decade.

But it’s easy to say my delight is all about this unusual heavenly event. The truth is, it’s more than that.

The moon is a common subject in poetry. It’s become a rather tired, old subject, frankly. Some poets have said it’s become a quirk, a kind of automatic pull to put “the moon” somewhere in the verses of a poem. Some say it’s time to avoid this. But I say, it’s time to embrace it. It’s the MOON, people. And the moon is magic.

It’s a romantic symbol, a love symbol in many cultures. It can be a symbol of femininity and is sometimes worshipped as a goddess. It evokes a sense of wonder. It encourages escapism and daydreaming, a serene and calming presence. And through its ethereal beauty has permitted a richness to endure, a source of inspiration for those attempting to wrestle with the complexities of human emotions.

And all of this is heightened as the moon is the brightest and closest it can ever be. It’s as if its powers have been electrified. This is what excites me. The artist’s most inspirational natural wonder at the absolute pinnacle of its power.

And to help you not only see this phenomenon, but to feel it, here are a few stanzas from the poetic world’s most heralded works on the most magnificent sphere in the sky.

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.

—Robert Louis Stevenson

The moon was but a chin of gold
A night or two ago,
And now she turns her perfect face
 Upon the world below.

Her forehead is of amplest blond;
Her cheek like beryl stone;
Her eye unto the summer dew
The likest I have known

—Emily Dickinson

Amongst the flowers I
am alone with my pot of wine
drinking by myself; then lifting
my cup I asked the moon
to drink with me, its reflection
and mine in the wine cup, just
the three of us; then I sigh
for the moon cannot drink,

and my shadow goes emptily along
with me never saying a word;
with no other friends here, I can
but use these two for company;
in the time of happiness, I
too must be happy with all
around me; I sit and sing
and it is as if the moon
accompanies me.

—Li Po

The low yellow
moon above the
Quiet lamplit house.

—Jack Kerouac

Though nurtured like the sailing moon
In beauty's murderous brood,
She walked awhile and blushed awhile
And on my pathway stood
Until I thought her body bore
A heart of flesh and blood.

But since I laid a hand thereon
And found a heart of stone
I have attempted many things
And not a thing is done,
For every hand is lunatic
That travels on the moon.

—William Butler Yeats

---

David W. Berner is the author of several books of award-winning fiction and memoir. His latest, Daylight Saving Time is available now. His novella, American Moon will be published by Regal House Publishing in 2026.