Today's poem by Ellaraine Lockie, "Monologue After the Moon," together with Alexis Rhone Fancher's photo "Los Angeles Hangnail Moon."

Monologue After the Moon

by Ellaraine Lockie

           

            There fell a silvery-silken veil of light,

            With quietude, and sultriness, and slumber,

            Upon the upturned faces of a thousand roses . . .

            --Edgar Allan Poe

Queen of the Night, where are you

Goddess Luna who used to slide

the silk of your arm through the window

across the bed to massage stress into rest

You who can beacon a safe path for sailors

and nocturnal animals

Your knights of shining armor

in the sky echoing every epical act

Five nights straight your ghost

steals the sleep from my eyes

It stares with its own anemic eyes

and mocking smile

It slithers through the stars

A voyeur who can't

but watches others make love

Great Bear in Swedish folklore says the dogs

up there are so afraid they bark

Even brilliant Sirius dims when your imposter

lifts its bald head out of the darkness

Creeps under trees, haunts houses

and roams cemeteries

And then sheds its rotted rays

over the earth like a shroud

I would welcome even the sinister dreams

it whispers in my ears

rather than this offspring creature

Cannibal who rattles the cage of my mind

Swallows the flesh of my sanity

The iron from my blood

Weariness which doesn't cease when the sun god

awakens the eastern sky

Come back Rishima/Mahina/Mizuki

and honor your eternal commitment to my gender

with your regal crown of light

You who govern the ocean's cycle along with ours

 It's time--the creature is drooling

The red petals on the roses are dropping

* * * * *

"Monologue After the Moon" was first published in All That Remains, a Las Positas College Anthology.

Ellaraine Lockie is a widely published and awarded poet, nonfiction book author and essayist.  Her thirteenth chapbook, Tripping with the Top Down, was just released from FootHills Publishing.  Poetry contest wins have included:  Encircle Publication’s Chapbook Contest Competition for Where the Meadowlark Sings, Women’s National Book Association’s Poetry Prize, Best Individual Collection from Purple Patch magazine in England for Stroking David's Leg and San Gabriel Poetry Festival Chapbook Contest Award for Red for the Funeral.  Ellaraine teaches poetry workshops and serves as Poetry Editor for the lifestyles magazine, Lilipoh.