Earth-moon

Once upon a time there was a person He was walking along He met the full burning moon Rolling slowly twoards him Crushing the stones and houses by the wayside. She shut his eyes from the glare. He drew his dagger And stabbed and stabbed and stabbed. The cry that quit the moon's wounds Circled the earth. The moon shrank, like a punctured airship, Shrank, shrank, smaller, smaller, Till it was nothing But a silk handkerchief, torn, And wet as tears. The person picked it up. He walked on Into moonless night Carrying his strange trophy.

power narrative poem dreamlike

Earth-moon - meaning Summary

Conquest of a Cosmic Force

This brief, fable-like poem imagines a lone walker confronting the moon as a huge, destructive presence. Rather than fleeing, he attacks it repeatedly, reducing it from a powerful celestial body to a torn, tear-wet object he can carry away. The ending turns victory into something unsettling: the man's trophy suggests a desire to master or possess a force far larger than himself, leaving the world in moonless darkness.

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