teo torriate

As of late, it seems I've been extra fascinated by the night sky. I've bored you with blogs and poems about the moon and venus. I even used Venus as a metaphor for my Granny-in-law. But I don't think I've ventured there yet with the moon. So far, just admiration and fascination. When Allison and I were in college, I had to be without her nearly every weekend and summers while I was on the road. That was back in the day when there were no such things as cell phones and email. Communication was slow, and I was never in the same place two days in a row. We developed a ritual. Every night at 10:00, we both vowed to go outside and look at the moon. We adopted an old Queen song, "When I'm gone, no need to wonder if I ever think of you. The same moon shines, the same wind blows for both of us and time is but a paper moon." It's great comfort for a 20 year-old, alone and in love, to know that he is doing exactly the same thing and thinking the same thing at exactly the same time as his distant love. I had a sense of security and truly felt that we were together during those moments. "its just as though I hold the flower that touches you."
Twenty years have passed, and the same moon shines. Now we're together a lot. But not enough. Wednesday night at about midnight, the moon managed to peep over the mountain and through the clouds. Allison and I were sitting together by the fire under a gigantic poplar tree. For a couple hours, the moon would peep out of the clouds as it hovered just above the mountains. It lit the dark night like headlights shining into the forest. You could read by it.
The clouds never leaked all night nor all day Thursday. We enjoyed a wet, smokey fire and drank in long needed, sleepy togetherness. Great comfort for a 40 year-old in love to know that his girl will still sit out under the moon with him - will still fight drowsiness to stay up way too late to speak in his language.
Goodnight babe, goodnight bears, goodnight lovers everywhere.
Goodnight moon.