Thursday, August 11, 2011

Full moon tug on my heart

There is a big full moon tonight, actually it's not completely full, but it brings to mind one of my former students from years ago. This is true.

The Man in the Moon
by Linda O'Connell

Stephen, three year old with elfin charm
shiny, copper penny hair, wasn't much bigger
than a sack of potatoes.

He would have been spunkier
than a spud spiced with jalapenos
if his ticker hadn’t been defective.

He whiled away his days in a hospital room,
watching helicopters whir-whir-whir
patients to the E.R. and his roommates
off to heaven.

On full moon nights, the ‘face’ tickled his fancy.
“Look, Mom! There’s the man in the moon. See him?”
“Uh hum,” she lied, because Ann never spied

what her little boy saw, until that night he died.
She walked outside, fisted her tears, sobbed and cried
at the sight of the Man in the Moon.

11 comments:

Kim Lehnhoff said...

I was just outside looking at the moon - it looked sad to me. I was thinking of a poem about all the bad stuff that's happening, it's going to make the moon cry.

Beth M. Wood said...

Oh, Linda. Beautifully written. You made me cry.

Karen Lange said...

How poignant and sweet. Thanks for sharing this, Linda.

BB said...

Very, very sad and yet beautifully written.

Southhamsdarling said...

Oh gosh,that is so sad. Beautifully written and very touching my friend.

Debora said...

Your poem was so very moving. Perhaps the child was able to catch a glimpse of the man in the moon on his way by...

Sioux Roslawski said...

My god, Linda. What a wonderful poem. So sad.

And the way you crafted it was extremely clever. Carrying over the thought from the 4th stanza to the 5th was ingenious.

"...fisted her tears..." was a marvelous line.

Pat Wahler said...

Very, very nice poem Linda. A heart-tugger in every sense of the word.

Pat
www.critteralley.blogspot.com

Tammy said...

Oh, Linda. So many spirits in this, and you captured them all in so very few words. Tonight I'm going to go look for a little elfin face in the moon.

BECKY said...

Breathtaking....

Pam said...

Being an emotional Italian girl; these words, this story, will stay with me all day. Thank you for conveying the magic moments children give us. Also, because of this story I will remain mindful of the great fortune I have been blessed with- healthy children and grandchildren.