Sliver
☆ February 17, 2016
There’s half a moon already. I was surprised, last night, when I went outside at 10pm and it was bright enough to see easily, bright enough for hard-edged shadows. The moonlight bounced off Chloe’s white fur, making her glow. Charlie’s coat, which can magically camouflage itself in all seasons and environments – dry grass, snow, sagebrush, red dirt – blended with the night. His shadowy form sparkled as the white tips of his guard hairs caught the light.
Half a moon makes it easy to be outside in the dark – it’s light enough to walk around, no need for flashlights – yet still easy to sleep. Full moons disrupt – moonlight bounces off every stone, off each specular surface of our trucks, it magnifies, then seeps around the edges of curtains and slides across bedroom walls. My favorite moon is a sliver, a delicate crescent. I call it the Frisco moon and it makes me feel connected to him again, when I see it. His horns were that shape.
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February 17th, 2016 @ 7:22 am
quote: “moonlight bounces off every stone, off each specular surface of our trucks, it magnifies, then seeps around the edges of curtains and slides across bedroom walls”
Lovely, evocative and calming. Thank you.
-d-
February 17th, 2016 @ 7:26 am
beautiful post – love the pictures it brings to my mind
February 17th, 2016 @ 7:41 am
perfect little essay. I sometimes look at that moon and sing as if I know Gaelic or French, something old and mysterious.
February 17th, 2016 @ 7:51 am
Lovely, lovely post, evoking good memories.
February 17th, 2016 @ 8:08 am
Poetry, Shreve. Pure, beautiful poetry.
February 17th, 2016 @ 8:21 am
A delightful post, and also some delightful comments.
February 17th, 2016 @ 8:34 am
My 2year old noticed it yesterday on our evening walk and said to me, “Mama, la lune, it smiles at us.”
February 17th, 2016 @ 8:40 am
The moon….she connects us in so many ways. She holds silvered memories of people (many legged or none at all) gone before.
Your words are poetry, Shreve, and a balm right now. Thank you.
February 17th, 2016 @ 8:48 am
Every night I search for the moon to see what form it takes. Unlike you I love the full moon, I suppose because I’m a Leo it is like my spotlight lol. Love these snippets Shreve but think they might be even more taxing for you than occasional blogging???
February 17th, 2016 @ 8:55 am
Shreve,
Thank you for sharing your beautiful moon thoughts with us. I love the moon beyond life. I was out looking at the moon, too, last night, “with you”.
In fact, I look at it nearly every night, except toward the end of the cycle when it’s very “old” and appears in the latest, darkest hours. Over the rest of the month I wait and wait. I know it’s out there in the day, but still am relieved and happy when that little sliver in the west appears again and all is well. When my little brother was two years old, he looked up in delight one evening and said, “Look! A toenail !”
I like to notice where it first appears each night, or where it lies at a certain hour of a night.
I love the moon. I love to see it change, and show up in its age-old positions in the sky. It’s not just Anywhere — it’s where it unfailingly resides and belongs.
I’m always so very grateful when its dark period is over, and we can see it again, right where it’s supposed to be, slightly larger or smaller than last night. I loved the moon when it taught me to seek out a description of its changes and I learned the new word “gibbous” and I could sorth out whether I’m seeing a waxing gibbous or a waning crescent, etc.
Seeing the moon means there’s nothing that’s come between me and it. The moon gives night clouds and mist interest and shows us all their various magical shapes and movements that we wouldn’t see otherwise.
When people I love are fighting and bad to each other, I can look at the moon to help heal and strengthen my heart. The moon changes without harming anything, and it’s my instant “better place”.
I love the irony of fun that Shakespeare puts us through iA Midsummer Night’s Dream’s numerous and varied moon references. One of the rustic players says, “Sweet moon! I thank thee for thy sunny beams!” We laugh at the seeming joke, EXCEPT the moon’s beams actually are the sun’s beams, reflected to earth. So the Rustic is right, and it’s OK and delightful and RIGHT to be just a rustic standing in the light of the moon.
February 17th, 2016 @ 9:04 am
A journal of fleeting thoughts, captured more permanently in writing. A record of the small moments that make up our days. Isn’t that what blogs used to be? A diary shared with others who then shared a bit back with the author. It would be nice to see a return to that in the blogosphere. Thanks for sharing here.
February 17th, 2016 @ 10:13 am
Enjoyed your post. Good thing that you are writing again as you definitely have the “gift”. When you write, I can picture everything easily in my mind!
Looking at the moon is good for you too! So many people don’t even look up anymore. :)
Your animals will always have a bond with you in this world and the next!
I wasn’t sure if I should share this but I recently had an animal communicator tell me that when we are going through big life changes and when we have shed the old and are ready to step into the new-our animals help absorb our difficulties, our pain, our struggles and then when they know that we will be alright and we are making it through the big life change, they move on to the next world. It’s like their last gift to us in the physical world, but they are still there for us, only holographically,so to speak, in spirit. I guess this happens a lot with our beloved animals. They help us through divorce, illness,… you name it.
You love your animals so much, so I just thought I would share.
Hug Charlie for me. :)
February 17th, 2016 @ 10:56 am
Beautiful, Shreve! Thanks; my day is made!
February 17th, 2016 @ 11:21 am
the Frisco moon. lovely.
February 17th, 2016 @ 11:22 am
I love the moon for connecting us. People from every culture ever have looked up at the moon. All but maybe those who live in dense forests have laid back on the ground and looked up at it. It’s an almost universal human experience. I wonder how many of them also waxed poetic, even if only to themselves, reminded of fond memories and loved ones.
February 17th, 2016 @ 11:39 am
My favorite moon is a sliver too. And now, forevermore I will think of it as a Frisco moon. And the love shining down.
February 17th, 2016 @ 12:05 pm
Frisco, how lovely he was! I love an orange harvest moon or a blue watery moon. I love the full moon when I can be off work and not have to sleep and get up at Oh Dark 30 for work.
Work nights – I just as soon have a new moon. Nothingness. actually with all the stress in my life right now – NOTHINGNESS is right where I want to be.
February 17th, 2016 @ 1:51 pm
I’m so glad you are beginning to write these daily entries. This one provided a lovely word picture of you, Chloe and Charlie moving through the evening darkness, lit by the soft light of the sliver of moon.
February 17th, 2016 @ 2:48 pm
That is so beautiful,Shreve, you certainly have the gift of words.
February 17th, 2016 @ 3:22 pm
Beautiful post Shreve. Its so fun to read your musings!
February 17th, 2016 @ 4:59 pm
My favourite bit was when you connected the sliver to Frisco. <3
February 17th, 2016 @ 5:25 pm
My dad used to say “there really is no death, only a continuum”. So it is with Frisco, and all others who have gone before. Lovely thing for me to believe.
February 17th, 2016 @ 5:42 pm
I think you might like the fantasy series by Sharon Shinn. One of the books features women that favor one of the phases of the moon as the height of their connection and power. Such great books!
February 17th, 2016 @ 7:07 pm
Bravo. Less emphasis on perfection often yields epic awesomeness. I find this especially true with writing and, in my world, teaching. I sometimes dream about Frisco, and the dreams are narrated with your words.
February 17th, 2016 @ 7:25 pm
Spectacular, dynamic, insightful, tender, profound, personal writing, Shreve, as your readers have come to expect and deeply appreciate. Thank you. This was truly breathtaking to read and visualize, and read again. I enjoyed all of the wonderful comments too.
February 17th, 2016 @ 9:17 pm
I was surprised by the half moon the other night– mostly because I could see it so well in the city and there appeared to be a planet just above it.
I enjoy all moon phases but slivers are pretty special!
February 17th, 2016 @ 9:27 pm
So poetic. I can see it all in my mind. as I started writing this comment, it almost felt like there was a photo on this post. Thank you for sharing!
February 18th, 2016 @ 1:26 pm
Beautiful. Made me weep for Frisco’s loss a tiny bit though.
February 20th, 2016 @ 11:01 am
Beautiful blog about the moon. Your descriptions were so good! I could see the moon sliver marking Cloe, Charlie, and the rest of your environment very well. I favor a silver moon too. I am glad it brought to mind your beautiful horse. I also like a blue moon but I have only seen this once when the snow was so white and the reflection from the moon was a fantastic blue!
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