MOON DAY
Elizabeth Woodson (she/her)
Listen to the Poem:
I have always been drawn to it
To her
The Moon
My mother taught me to pay attention
She says that she learned that from her mother
“Look at that mooooooon!!!!!”
She is thrilled
Every time
So I am too
For many years, I misinterpreted this inheritance
It was a quirk
I was known by my friends as Moon Girl
Always making a loud squeal when the moon was in sight
Pointing and making everyone else look too
We laughed and kept going
“Why do you love the moon?” they would ask
I didn’t really know. “It’s pretty!!” I would say.
Around my house are the many moon-themed gifts I have received over the years
Two sets of moon coasters
A moon bracelet, three moon necklaces
Two moon banners
A moon canvas bag
And many moon journals
Since I moved to Montgomery, I’ve had full moon rise watching parties
I’m having one today
You can too:
Look up the day of the next full moon
Identify a good spot – the top of a hill! Or a park with an open horizon, ideally a flat field with visibility due east and not too many trees up close (although a treeline can add to the drama)
Look up the time that the full moon will rise
Text your friends to meet you there 30 minutes before the time the internet told you
Bring:
Blankets
A candle
Some flowers
A moon playlist
Pens, paper, some kind of reflection to offer - what are we releasing? What are we growing?
Snacks
Gather
Marvel at the sun setting
Turn around 180 degrees and wait for the moon to enter
She never comes when the internet says she will
No
We must wait
And watch
We must pay attention
She’ll come when she is ready
Who will be the first one to glimpse her??
WOWWWWWWW there she isssssssss
First there is celebration
Noisy
Joyful
“Can you believe how bright it is???”
Then there is quiet
We just watch
She moves so fast but so slow
Becoming bluer as she rises
We are enthralled
“And to think, this happens every month!!”
One time, Gracen who is 5 says we must all run to her
He leads the way
3, 2, 1, GO!!
We sprint towards the moon
She lays out a road for us
We are flying to her!!!!
The park does have an end, and we do have to stop running, but we feel closer
To her
To each other
We walk back to the group, panting, happy
These friends also ask, “Why do you love the moon?”
I didn’t know I would find the answer learning about whiteness
Learning about my people
Before we became “white”
The Celtic, the Germanic, the Anglo-Saxon cultures from whom I descend
I have been learning of their cosmology, their toasting rituals, their land practices
And then I learned that they were lunar
Their time and relationships and life-understanding was determined by the moon
Full moons were their times of celebration, especially at the Harvest
And then it coalesced
My mother taught me to look for the moon
And her mother taught her
Could this be one thread of connection - to land, to culture - that did survive?
That somehow made its way through those generations of my people choosing whiteness and denial and destruction?
???
Yes.
Yes.
It is not a quirk.
It is not random.
It is old.
It is nurturing.
It is known to my spirit.
It is one way to repair.
And now as I pay attention, I know why
I will keep sharing with the children, as my mother has told me and her mother told her
This will be the inheritance that I choose to pass down
It is already starting
Gracen asked me, “When is the next moon party? I want to run to the moon again!”
At each gathering, we greet each other with, “Happy Moon Day!”
At the end, we say, “Can’t wait til next month!”
And I know that there will be a next month
And I will understand why I
And so many
Are drawn to her light
