Photo by Vicentiu Solomon
An unlikely friendship, theirs;
The Sun’s and the Moon’s.
It was the talk of the universe,
This strange celestial bond.
When stars wondered why
The Sun chose to light up
The Moon, unlit by herself.
The Earth wondered why
The Moon glowed brighter
In response to the Sun.
Was it an unequal bond,
The Moon wondered sometimes.
For the Sun was always constant,
His light never subject to time
Whereas the Moon changed in cycles,
Now waning, now growing.
“Allow me to light you”, said Sun,
“At all the times”.
“I’m afraid of favoring light”, said she,
“The dark finds its way”.
And so it did when once,
The Moon in her earthly duties,
Allowed distance so long between
That Earth came in the way,
And obscured all Moon’s light.
And when she came at last
Leaving the Earth right behind,
Moon cast a shadow so big,
The fiery radiance dimmed
And eclipsed, this time, the Sun.
The cycle swept her again,
And Moon started waning.
At last she was down to nothing,
No light of her own to guide her;
The Sun, a distant friend.
Would Sun now keep her light-less,
And shower his rays on others?
Would darkness be all she had,
Her only friend in regret,
For causing mayhem of eclipses?
She willed herself to burn
Like other stars, Sun’s equals.
She willed herself to cast light
And perhaps a higher power heard her,
For she saw her being illuminate.
Surprised, she found Sun’s rays reaching her.
Far though they may be,
They were enough to give her strength.
And Moon set about, now growing,
To find Sun across the caliginous sky.