Skip to main content

THE HALF MOON by Christina Rossetti


(Submitted by Lynda Vargas)

Last night, holding hands, my husband and I admired the full moon...

Together, we watched as the moon illuminated our home from the window above our front door. I thought of our son in New York, seeing the same moon reflecting on the East River, our daughter in Seattle walking her dog under the same moon, and our daughter in Florida gazing at the same full moon through the tall trees from her bedroom windows. It brought me a feeling of peace, knowing that we all share the same sense of awe when we see the moon in its wonderful fullness.

 The moon teaches me that what is missing will soon appear, what is lacking will be fulfilled, what is partial will be made whole, what is dark will be made light. Then, again, what is complete will again disintegrate, what is whole will break up, what is gained will be lost, what is perfect will disappoint, what is joy will fade into sorrow. Then, ever so slowly, peace, beauty, love, and light return again.  Always. Forever.

In the following poem by Christina Rossetti, (1830-1894), we feel the unending pendulum swing between joy and sorrow, success and defeat, completeness and incompleteness, as being natural to us, as part of the divine order of creation.


The Half Moon
By Christina Rossetti

The half moon shows a face of plaintive sweetness
Ready and poised to wax or wane;
A fire of pale desire in incompleteness,
Tending to pleasure or to pain: ---
Lo, while we gaze she rolleth on in fleetness
To perfect loss or perfect gain.

Half bitterness we know, we know half sweetness;
The world is all on wax, on wane:
When shall completeness round time’s incompleteness,
Fulfilling joy, fulfilling pain?
Lo, while we ask, life rolleth on in fleetness
To finished loss or finished gain.

Moonlit Night by Betsy A. Cutler


Lynda Grace Vargas is a retired foreign language and elementary school teacher who loves romance languages and opera. She lovingly dedicated most of her life to being a full time mother to her three children and editing her husband’s law books. Growing up as a  Patrick, one of the most well know families of professional ice hockey players and coaches, Lynda spent much of her youth performing in figure skating shows. She holds degrees from Vassar College and USD in education and lives in San Diego with her husband of 50 years where they enjoy a vegetarian lifestyle, reading, watching hummingbirds and the simple pleasures in life. 

*For submission guidelines, click here.*

Comments

  1. Thank you for adding your lovely voice to my poetry blog, Mom! :) So, how does it feel to be published online? I hope you enjoy the experience so much that you'll decide to contribute again in the future. I love you under today's full moon and always! xoxo

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

  This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience.  Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Gather

IMBOLC by Caroline Mellor

The inspiration for this poem came after I watched a magical winter sunset and full moonrise from the top of Firle Beacon in the South Downs... Unusually for me, I wrote the poem quite quickly and changed it very little before publishing it – perhaps the energies were working through my pen! Imbolc is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s a fire festival which I particularly love because of its associations with Brigid, the Celtic Mother Goddess of arts and crafts, clear sight, healing, inspiration and nurturance of creative talents – something which, through my writing, I am always trying to connect with.  I also love Imbolc because, with so much darkness and negativity in the world today, it is a time for hope, potential, visioning and initiation. With love and blessings as the light returns. Photography by Chanel Baran IMBOLC    by Caroline Mellor I am the dream of awakening. I am the returning of the night.  I am the tough green

WINTER SOLSTICE: A GIFT OF LOVE by Carolyn Riker

I’ve had several days now of alone time… It is unusual and a gift that I couldn’t see until I breathed it. I have been able to watch the sun’s rise through the grey of dawn and smile at the flickers of frost melting on the waving boughs of evergreen. It’s unique to follow daylight as it traverses the tempo of a cat’s soft slumbering purr. Night comes swifter and the glow of candles and the flames of fire comfort me more than the steady stream of always-doing-more. As much as I resisted, I needed this break. I had no idea how much my body was trying to tell me   slow down   until the exhaustion settled in around my joints. My eyes swam in molasses. Heaviness of I-can’t-hold-out-much-long, walked me to the throne of my nest. It’s winter’s gift of self-nurturing and love. It’s been a quiet proclamation of femininity and a need for comfort foods. Lemon crisps and cranberry, white-chocolate shortbread dipped in tea; I felt a hint of being pampered without