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WITNESS TO THE WINTER MOON by Alice Maldonado Gallardo

At 5:00 a.m. on my way to dialysis, after a big snowstorm, I saw the most wonderful full moon above a blanket of new snow…

I live in Western Massachusetts, a beautiful place full of New England charm. The driver that takes me to the dialysis took the backroads that early morning. It looked magnificent and magical.

I was so overwhelmed by its beauty that I wrote the poem while I was having the dialysis treatment. I needed to communicate the experience in the best way possible, and for me that is by writing. Such beauty deserves poetry. This poem is my version of what I saw that early morning. 

Witness to the Winter Moon
by Alice Maldonado

Under the watchful eyes
of a thousand stars,
before the unveiling of dawn,
and inside a black sea,
you will find the full moon
crowning itself in a halo,
breathing light,
guiding the lonely road
below.

All the royal pines
are lined up
in the procession of snow
and the ice crystals
force their branches to bow.

Timeless farmhouses
are waking up.
Their kitchen lights
show the snow still untouched
outside the icy windows,
and the white ribbons of smoke
out of the chimneys
finding their way back
to the traveling clouds.

The faithful red barns sleep,
protected by the towering silos
shining their metallic moonlight,
as shields polished
by the hands of men
and the North Wind.

Faint fog silently blankets
the frozen Connecticut River
praying for the warmth of life.
While the shadows
of the distant mountains
softly delineate the dance
of the moon
across the living sky.

Then the East begins its march
burning up the sun
with the flames of colors
born in paradise,
as the full moon of Winter
finally falls gently from heaven
and its presence disappears
in the footsteps of snow.

Alice Maldonado Gallardo: I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1966, but at the age of 14 moved with my family to Massachusetts. I studied Latin American Studies at Mount Holyoke College where I was a Frances Perkins Scholar. After graduation I attended Loyola Law School but withdrew to pursue other interests. I worked as Assistant Editor and later as Web and Promotion Manager at the University of Massachusetts Press. I have also worked as a real estate appraiser, translator, secretary, substitute teacher, small business owner and web developer. I live with my teenage son in Amherst, Massachusetts. Three of my poems have been published in an online journal: The Elephant Journal. You can connect with me on Facebook here. 



~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~ 

Comments

  1. Oh Alice, this is just lovely. You have captured the beauty of our neck of the woods perfectly—the farmhouses and silos, the river, and the "haloed" moon I have been watching the past few evenings. Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Ginny! We live in a magical, beautiful place! <3

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's the poets who have the eyes to see these magical sights along an ordinary drive,the haloed moon, the friendly farmhouses, the faithful barns and royal pines. You words capture their breath.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree Susan, poets have a different vision of everything, from the tiny details of life to its immensity. Thank you.

      Delete

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