This is not a love story

· by · in dVerse, free verse, poetry. ·

Sometimes the moon decides
to walk the streets, pretending
she’s a hooker. Once I watched
her starstruck, hips a-swaying
pulling tricks on astronauts;
her skimpy dress kept slipping
up her pregnant belly, while
to beat of mariachi music from
an all-night-open small cantina
she tap danced on stiletto heels.

At other times you can find the
moon, as she is burning
midnight oil as paralegal for the
strip-mall lawyers office selling
bail-bonds at discount. I watched
her once, pale face round, reflected
in persistent flicker of her computer
screen while in the corner of her
office a man with greasy hair
was lighting his cigar, pretending not
to see the brass non-smoking signs.

And there are times when she
drives yellow cabs; I have met
her shopping groceries (mostly
cheese in the discount stores) and I
have met her hurling angry glances
at me cross the aisle of crowded
subway trains. Once I even
think she frisked me at security
when I traveled from Chicago to
Columbus (but it could very well
have been a copycat pretender)

But mostly we just timeshare silver
moments, when she plays peeping
Tom trying very hard to catch a
glimpse of naked and complying me.

The virgin whore complex by Burhan Dogancay

The virgin whore complex by Burhan Dogancay

Today Grace want us to write poetry about the moon at dVerse to celebrate the new moon, but to write about the moon as if the moon is a person – flesh, sweat and blood. Describe him or her, and tell us about your moon. Bar opens at 3 PM EST.

—
August 30, 2016

51 responses to “This is not a love story”

  1. A most intriguing moon! The last stanza is the best, where the moon tries to get a glimpse of a naked and compliant you, sharing silver. I do like all the faces of this moon.

  4. I love the imagery in the first stanza – the moon as a hooker – and those timeshare silver moments! There’s an old saying my grandfather used to use when I was very small and he caught a glimpse of my naked derriere – there’s the full moon of Brighton!

  7. Smiling I am!!!! One of your best — but so many are! I love all the “phases” of this moon! But especially her peeking in the end.

  8. Excellent, the personification, the moon transforming into a person, a bystander lingering, the ever present effect is really great in this.
    The idea of the moon as a hooker was amusing, and in many ways she attracts attention at night, the main source of light seducing eyeballs.

  11. I love the different characters of the moon Bjorn. I think she wears many hats and personalities over the years. Love the ending too: timeshare silver
    moments

    Cheers!

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  13. Wow, brother, you rocked the prompt with this one; supreme personification. I laughed as in the second stanza she worked at a “strip mall” after being a hooker in the stanza above it; smile. Moon as cab driver hooked me.

  20. never has the moon been so tantalisingly anthropomorphised. Love all the glimpses of the moon in these nocturnal events of man

  25. I don’t even know where to start with this. I could write pages and pages, from the way the title and opening line work together, to the cleverness of “pulling tricks,” the suggestion that “walking the streets” is in contrast of either being in prison or confining oneself to a sort of house arrest, the repetition throughout of “I watched” and all that that suggests, the fact that “cantina” has inside it “can’t in a/her” … meaning that the “beat” doesn’t result in your junk ending up inside her, the impossibility of a dancer tapping with heels (and yet, she’s doing it) … besides, the moon doesn’t even have feet! She hovers … Anyway, I could go on and on, but I think that’s frowned upon. Just know that I see so much here and think this is a brilliant piece of artwork.

  29. Love the way you personified the moon in multiple bodies — she is indeed a shapeshifter in our sky, but we also shift in her light every night down below…Thanks for sharing.

  31. The one thing, I can always say, Bjorn, is your poetry never fails to fill with wonder, with your poetic ability and creativity. And this poem, has to be, one of your best ones, I have read, to date. Thank you, for blessing us, with your verses.

  32. The moon is just as busy and just as smart. A soft sport for those lonely hearts looking for solace forgetting how it looks in reality when Neil Armstrong landed!

    Hank

  33. Well you may not think it’s a love story, but like it or not, there’s a love story going on between me and this poem. I’m glad you linked it again.

  36. Bjorn, all i can say is this is one of the most astounding and unique poems I have ever read about the moon (or any subject matter). Your imagination is a rare and splendid thing. Hats off, sir!

  38. I love this poem, Bjorn! Just love it. Brings up Star Trek and travelling beyond… but maybe that’s just me. 🙂 In law school I wrote a long scholarly article about the concept of “timesharing” and fair use. Haha! Your poem is much, much lovelier.

  40. Very late to comment…sorry
    I like this chameleon moon, coming to life in so many faces and characters and all the vivid scenes you created for each. This is awesome. 🙂

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