There is blood on the end of the sickle moon,
though no one but me can see it.
It's the same moon that hung
over the place I was born
grown gaunt with homesickness.
Or maybe I've just seen myself
reflected in the moon
as darkness inches across it,
engulfing it so nothing of its past remains.
The most familiar things look wrong
under a moonless sky. I recognize nothing
that looks like home.
I embrace my darkness,
but I do not let it consume me
for I have the brightness of the stars in my soul.
I let them point the way,
if not towards home,
towards a future where I shine steady
as souls wax and wane around me.
Song Choice: Away by Priscilla Hernandez
This poem is linked to the Tuesday Platform over at Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads and Poets United Poetry Pantry 421.
Perhaps you've noticed the tags this week too. I didn't plan on Rina having a large role in the Yuuki stories, but when I wrote a bit of flash fiction from the point of view of Ana's favorite aunt, people seemed to really like it and wanted to know more about her. This poem is written from the point of view of a much younger Rina, and I promise to expand on that tale very soon. 😉
Featuring poetic beats, lyrical storytelling, and other assorted jazz.
"for I have the brightness of the stars in my soul" -- beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Debra
DeleteI've always liked the phrase that suggest that we must remember where we come from in order to know who we are. And I like the speaker's attitude even more... because I believe that understanding where we come from, embracing it without letting it define us, is even more crucial to discovering who we can be... if we choose.
ReplyDeleteVery true. We can make better choices when we understand and embrace where we've been, and then use that to go places we've never imagined before.
DeleteThis time around, the "blood on the end of the sickle moon" lingers extra brightly in my head.
DeleteI love this description of yourself as a star...defiant against the darkness and determined to shine steady..whether headed towards home or not. Very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad. :)
DeleteI have also had my eye on that bright sickle moon the last few nights..
ReplyDeleteThese lines are particularly moving:
The most familiar things look wrong
under a moonless sky. I recognize nothing
that looks like home.
I'm glad I was able to move you
Delete"the blood on the end of the sickle moon" is such a wonderful image -- I love how you dips into this eclipse and create a tale around it of finding a way despite when certain familiar things are not clear in the absence of moonlight. And you find a way forward. So positive and heartwarming.
ReplyDelete-HA
I did want hope to shine out at the end.
DeleteSo excited to learn more about this character! Your first two lines are so full and pulled me in to experience her feeling of homelessness while at home. Beautiful, again, Rommy!
ReplyDeleteYay! I am so glad the piece was able to move you like that
Delete5th stanza gives me goosebumps!
ReplyDeleteCool!
DeleteOh Rommy this is stunning! I love this beautiful poem! I especially love the line, "The most familiar things look wrong
ReplyDeleteunder a moonless sky. I recognize nothing
that looks like home." So beautiful!!
Woot! So glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteThere is something about the moon that I really think you captured here... the fact that it is like us, being a mirror... I think we see ourselves just like it mirrors the sun when it's darkest.
ReplyDelete*grin* Yes! I was hoping people might see that aspect.
DeleteWhat a beautiful contemplation of yourself and your world.
ReplyDeleteWell, technically it's for a character, but I'll take the compliment. :D
DeleteHow amazing to think that we have been seeing the same sickle moon at apposite sides of the world, Rommy! I didn't see the blood, though. The lines that called out to me are:
ReplyDelete'Or maybe I've just seen myself
reflected in the moon
as darkness inches across it',
which I think is something only women feel, as we are intrinsically linked to the moon.
Ooh, that's a really nice perspective I hadn't considered - but it works!
DeleteGoodness, this is beautiful from beginning to end. I simply can't find a favorite piece..It would just be copy and paste of the whole poem.
ReplyDeleteAw! Thanks :)
DeleteOh that opening line... what a soul grabber!! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thanks
Delete"I embrace my darkness,
ReplyDeletebut I do not let it consume me
for I have the brightness of the stars in my soul."...So beautiful and inspiring lines. Gorgeous.
I think I like that bit best too
DeleteThis is absolutely enthralling!💖 Especially adore; "I embrace my darkness,
ReplyDeletebut I do not let it consume me for I have the brightness of the stars in my soul."💖
So glad you enjoyed it
DeleteI especially love that she has the brightness of stars in her soul.
ReplyDeleteI loved the mental images it brough up for me
DeleteCaptivating--the speaker of the poem draws her struggle in such vivid images!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it
DeleteI like the idea of embracing the darkness but not letting it consume you. Very evocative writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary
DeleteFascinating, and beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it
DeleteAh, such a mystery, blood on the moon. I like the way you used it in the end to point in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI wanted that hope at the end of the horror.
DeleteI have SO BEEN THERE … and you have articulated that experience, brilliantly.
ReplyDeleteI am delighted that it resonated so well with you
DeleteBeautiful piece!
ReplyDeleteZQ
Thanks ZQ
Delete"Or maybe I've just seen myself
ReplyDeletereflected in the moon" A darkness with a bloody edge? I haven't read the series, so hesitate to comment, but I enjoyed the comparison of self to the eclipse moon.
I am glad the poem was moving enough, even without knowledge of the character
DeleteThe most familiar things look wrong
ReplyDeleteunder a moonless sky. I recognize nothing
that looks like home.
This struck me as immensely sad.
I'm glad I was able to create that feeling
DeleteBeautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vicki
DeleteAh the stars in her soul as all around wax and wane.. Oh that she shines in her future.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Oh she definitely does!
ReplyDelete"I embrace my darkness, but I do not let it consume me"--good eclipse thought!
ReplyDeleteLovely to return to this one after some time. I still find it enthralling, and although I love the poem in its own right I also long for an expanded version in the form of a story.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant write Rommy, you embrace the paradox of life and indeed humanity so charmingly here:
ReplyDelete"I embrace my darkness,
but I do not let it consume me
for I have the brightness of the stars in my soul."
And spookily enough, an echoes of my own piece here this month too! Nice to be reading you again...
All the emotions pouring out, I love this poem!
ReplyDeleteThe moon inspires a deep reflection. A beautiful and contemplative poem, Rommy.
ReplyDeleteI love the line "I embrace my darkness, but I do not let it consume me". I live by those words. Incredible piece by you, Rommy
ReplyDeleteWow! I write about the moon a lot and have referred to it as a sickle but never with blood on the tip. I have seen it as a cupid's arrow, but still no blood. I really love this poem, every line I relate to, a perfect juxtaposition of our place in the cosmos of it all.
ReplyDeletethat opening line!
ReplyDeletethe reader is drawn into another atmospheric world, another different planet, or dimension even. :)
thanks for the video, the artiste deserves much more views than that.
Very nice. Blood dripping from the sickle Moon!
ReplyDeleteSomeone said "no matter where you go, there you are". We tend to think happiness is always a journey away. Perhaps we should just put it in our backpack and take it with us wherever we go. Another wise man said "We are all just about as happy as we make up our minds to be". Your poem is an evocative read.
ReplyDeleteThings do look different at night, especially under our current full moon I once watched the blood moon on my back porch with my sister. This made me think of that.
ReplyDeleteEmbracing darkness, not letting it consume us ~~~ the secret to survival. Cheers to you!
ReplyDelete