MOON ECLIPSE MAY 24, 1975

by Allen Cohen

The moon is dead:
        it was killed tonight
                by the sting of Scorpio.

People laughed and even made love
        told stories and bad jokes
                and sang on the hill.

While watching
        the dull red outline
                Of the moon glow.

Stars appeared
        that were long lost
                In the moon's silvery light.

David, the astronomer and orgiast,
        named every star in the sky
                standing on tiptoe and pointing.

Tribal people, not long ago,
        feared the world’s end
                when moon or sun disappeared,

But our eclipses are entertainments
        though the ocean
                Is roaring in anger.

Darkness for over an hour_
        perhaps the moon
                really is dead

Never to be reborn
        flaming and full
                in Sagittarius.

Tides will never rise again.
        Women won’t ovulate regularly.
                except by electric bulb.

I will need flashlights
        to walk through
                the darkened woods.

We will need nuclear power plants
        every hundred miles
                to light the nights.

Who ever put
        that big rock
                in the sky anyway?

Coyotes will never gather and howl again.
Lunatics will be quiet and docile.
Lovers will park under street lamps
And throw dimes into meters for each kiss.
God! P.G.E. stocks are sky high
And my lover had cramps in her ovaries.
If the moon dies night won't be worth living.
Don't die moon! Come back and light my dream.

A little bit of light appearing _
        singers and violins
                sarcastic jokes and simulated howls.

I want you moon
        full, flaming, silvery, reflective,
                queen of night: I want to see your phases.

A red ball in a vertical crescent:
        meteors flashing around you
                saluting your return.

I love you, moon!
        light my night paths and
                keep chasing the sun around the world.

© Copyright by Allen Cohen, 1975. All rights reserved.

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