It’s 5:45 am.
It started tracking me yesterday morning.
I’m driving to work. Dark is lifting to dusk.
I’m returning to the office after an extended vacation.
My head is tumbling with To-Do’s.
I round the corner for the last 1/2 mile stretch and there it was.
Full. Bright. Beaming. Silent.
I stare, and enter a few second refuge before pulling into the garage.
It’s 6:40 pm.
I’m done with my first day back, of meetings back to back.
I’m in my re-entry. Decompression? Gone.
I accelerate down the exit ramp and there it is.
Full. Bright. Beaming. Silent.
It’s tracking me the entire ride home up I-95 N.
And gracefully nudging me from exhaustion, to fatigue and softly settling me into calm.
Yes, Mr. Kooser.
I have missed so many. The count is well into the thousands.
But, no Sir. No Sir.
I didn’t miss this one.
How many moons have I been too busy to notice? Full moons, half moons, quarter moons facing those thousands of suns, watching them bringing the years up, one piece at a time. Even the dark phases of moon after moon, gray stoppers plugged into a starry sky, letting a little light leak out around the edges. By my reckoning, almost a thousand full moons have passed above me know, and I have been too busy and self-absorbed to be thankful for more than a few, though month after month they have patiently laid out my shadow, that velvety cloak that in the moonlit evenings waits for me.
~ Ted Kooser, January. The Wheeling Year: A Poet’s Field Book
- Photograph: MINE. Horrible, right? It’s an iPhone shot out the front window of I-95 traffic and the Moon.
- Related Posts: Driving Series
Live & Learn 
Great poem and even better photo!
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Laughing. You caught that footnote, huh. My kids were urging me not to post the photo. But you know how that goes. They say no, I do yes.
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I make it a point not to miss a full moon <3. Now that, you have introduced Ted Kooser to me so beautifully, I have made up my mind to get hold of his book and read it on full moon days. 🙂
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Great. You won’t regret it…enjoy Rekha.
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Try never to miss the moon – though arguably on its flip side (in the wee hours of the morning when I’m out with the Sirs)…And how ironic is it that the dad defies the kids. Good thing he never gets annoyed when the kids defy the dad. 😉
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Oh no, he (Dad) gets annoyed. No worries about that.
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Laughing – a lot.
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And, around this house, Defiance is the rallying cry!
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I guess they learned from the master!
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As they say, the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree.
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Smiling – so now we know you’ll never get angry when they whisper ‘defiance’, and go their own way… 😉 You’re so evolved kiddo..
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Laughing. Evolved. Hmmm. That certainly wouldn’t be the term they would use to characterize me. Neanderthal would be closer.
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There’s a moon in that picture? Lol. It is “artsy.” 😄
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Awww. Cut me some slack. I was in a moving vehicle. It’s intended to be contemporary. Sort of a digitally enhanced look. 🙂
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I have walked in the morning darkness but it must be hard on the mind to commute in a car to work in the dark.
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Some days yes, some days not so much…
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It’s funny how the sun demands to be noticed and the moon is so much more demure. Great photo, too. Looks like you were going pretty fast. Are you sure the kids weren’t chastising you for using your phone while driving? 😉
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No comment! Glad you loved the photo. (Note to Kids: Ha!)
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Brilliant…both the moon and your post on it. Too often we take the sky’s miracles for granted.
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Thank you for the kind words. And yes, we do it it for granted. I agree.
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This post sings, DK. I was completely enthralled by the full moon last night–a gorgeous glowing orb gliding across the inky night sky…it seemed so serene to me. I simply cannot gaze upon a full moon and not be moved to take a long, deep breath and let my shoulders drop a notch or two.
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Thank you Lori. I too was locked in on the moon. Yes, glowing, orb, serene, breathe, shoulders drop – beautifully captured.
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and the moon will always return. it never will cease to do so. it is up to you to see it. it will always return, whether you see it or not. i’m glad you saw it this time.
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Yes. I’m glad too Beth.
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And yes, its always there. Patiently waiting for one to notice. Love he characterization above as being “demure.”
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I was facing the full moon when it rose, bloated and crimson through the lattice-work of eastern trees. Moonstruck. “Hello, you.” Driving, too, and absolutely unable to take my eyes off it. Bit by bit, it shed its dramatic garb and became the naked, pale orb I remembered. But I consider myself royally reminded.
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Beautiful Sandy. Thanks for sharing.
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Love this…I always know when I-95 is in your title, it’s gonna be an awesome post! 😉
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www, thank you Vicki. Appreciate it.
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With your current observation skills you’re not likely to miss any more full moons. But I had missed this post – worthy of observation as always.
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Smiling. Thank you Helen.
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Last night,clarity reigned, the sky so dazzling and the fall moon was just about half exposed, illuminating brightly…ps, no fog today 🙂
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