Blessed Night
Last night the moon rose large and luminous over the pine trees behind the neighbor’s house. Always beautiful, whether showing a sliver of bare shoulder above a gown of star speckled black or staring down at us, full-figured and lovely, proudly flaunting the rich curving body of night.
Body of night
moon slips
silent
through
star-strewn sky
white nights
connect the dots
an immense
heaven wide picture
seen in dream filled
slumber
heard in the whisper
of mother’s
goodnight kiss
felt in
smooth hands
pushing back
sleep tousled locks
the first blessing counted,
held dear
As we went back inside, we paused to admire the night sky, noting the stars more bashful than usual, hiding in the glow of their sister moon. I looked for Orion, but he was gone. But then, I thought I saw…
“The Big Dipper!” I cried, pointing almost straight up over the house. “I haven’t seen that since I don’t know when.” We looked for the Little Dipper, but it was lost to us behind the green curtain of the trees that edge the yard.
A beautiful moon and a glimpse of one of the constellation that defined my childhood, two signs of Allaah in the night sky of May. I went to bed thankful for this double gift.
Late night. The house sleeps. It begins as a slight moaning, an old man, his bones creaking as he lifts himself up out of his chair.
Then a sigh- a sursurring- an exhalation of sea and sky, fluttering leaves, swaying trees. I struggle to open the window, suddenly anxious to feel the night. A push, and it is up.
The wind is not alone. The sound of thousands of tiny feet pattering overhead. The rain falls, millions of tiny drops, a mercy to everything it touches.
A mercy to me, sister to moon and rain. A comfort, and an affirmation.
A night of blessings from the Lord of the Worlds.
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
3 comments