On the drive home from practice tonight,
the heavy, yellow moon floats,
low and full,
inviting.
Caught, we pull over,
stop in the parking lot of our condo
complex;
stumbling over rocks and dips in the green grass,
we walk to the lake and search for the moon
past the water fountain,
over the trees,
around the buildings,
through Laina’s tired grumblings.
No moon.
Hide and seek.
Catch me if you can.
Go straight, I command,
walking through the field,
the moon…
My foot slides on a slippery, dark object.
I scream.
The girls run so fast to the safety of the
parking lot
and artificial lights—
Laina on the concrete, laughing and
moaning;
Lexi doubled over with laughter;
I stagger in between laughs and squeals,
hunting always for danger,
until I, too, reach safety.
Drawing deep breaths in between lingering
giggles,
we race to the car and pile in.
What did I
step on?
“Mom, it’s a snake,” Laina declares. Lexi
agrees.
It was flat.
Slippery and flat. And it moved.
We ponder the dark possibilities.
I want to see…
“I wanna go home,” Laina wails. “I’m
exhausted and sore.”
“I’m game if we stop for shakes,” Lexi
adds.
The image of the moon beckons
like a journey too long denied.
Determined to capture a photo of the
beauty,
we embark on our own adventure:
chasing moonlight.
Down roads,
around houses,
through neighborhoods,
we drive,
capturing glimpses of the round moon.
Who else do
you know who chases the moon?
“Just you."
My mom
would.
I roll down the window;
at another peep of the moon,
I let loose a long howl.
The moon peeks,
creamy and cold;
the moon winks;
brilliant and bright.
We park at a friend’s place near a golf
course,
snap photographs
over the alligator infested river
through the light fog, and
the moon sparkles
luminous and low,
so low we reach out and grab hold
of moonlight,
of promise and hope and
of all things lovely and new and good.
