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!~
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!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ginny! We live in a magical, beautiful place! <3
ReplyDeleteIt'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.
ReplyDeleteI agree Susan, poets have a different vision of everything, from the tiny details of life to its immensity. Thank you.
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