A Moment

I took a real moment,
not a virtual corona one,
to step out into the garden,
under cover of the darkest night.

White noise and rustle
of leaves – the only human
sound was the distant hum
of tyre on tarmac, a delivery truck

perhaps. It was quiet
and so dark I could not see
my hands, but overhead
the night sky sparkled with a bright,

incandescent,
multitude of stars,
distant and countless.
In that moment, the universe took

my breath away,
made my head spin,
made me gasp so my chest
hurt and my lungs felt as if they were alight.

Lying on its back,
the moon smiled enigmatically
at the brightest star, steadfastly
burning – Venus pinned on her zodiac hook.

I swear she winked at me,
a slow, knowing lowering
of her eyelid, as if to say,
‘Take a breath, everything will be all right.’

Kim M. Russell, 26th April 2020

New Moon And Venus In The Morning Stock Photo, Picture And Royalty ...
Stock image from 123RF.com

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads NaPoWriMo Day 26 Play it Again in April 2020: Reboot, Rewind, Recycle, also linked to Poets and Storytellers United Writers’ Pantry

Last year, on Friday, April 26th, Karin shared some of her original recycled artwork (which I’ve missed, by the way) and wrote about being conscious of the movement of the seasons, and seeing them twice, particularly spring, first in city parks and then a few weeks later in the country. She said that seeing rewinds of seasons makes her aware of the recharging of the landscape.

Her prompt was to write about moments of re-charging, rebooting, re-winding, re-birthing, and was meant to be as general as possible – Karin didn’t want us to write about the seasons or generalities, but to be in the moment. The first time around, I wrote about taking a moment from washing up to listen to a pigeon cooing on our chimney pot.

I’m merging this prompt with Kerry’s Skylover Wordlist, sourced from Dylan Thomas’s poetry collection Deaths and Entrances, from which the twenty-sixth word is ‘zodiac’.

48 thoughts on “A Moment”

  2. My goodness this is beautiful! 😀 I so love; “In that moment, the universe took my breath away, made my head spin, made me gasp so my chest hurt and my lungs felt as if they were alight.” 🌠💝

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  4. I know exactly how you felt in the moment, as I commune with Venus every night! The stars are so much brighter in these nights of our confinement, and I daresay, the universe is quite okay without human ventures. The same Venus, Kim, you and I aligned, though on opposite ends of the planet. How cool is that?

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  10. I just know she did! Winked at you, I mean. She knows you love her and the grass and trees and flowers she gets to shine on, so she loves you back.

    It’s cloudy and rainy today, so there will be no moon to see tonight. But I will come back to this poem before bed, and reread it while imagining her winking at me too.

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  12. Lovely Kim – a capture of a wonderful moment, a knowing.
    It is overcast here today, but the very next day the sun shines (until the moon takes over), I will go into my garden and hope to capture the beauty the peace that you happily experienced. Tomorrow, I hope.
    Anna :o]

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  15. I love that wink and the “everything will be all right. When one is in nature, and under the vastness of the night sky, we know it will be – no matter what happens.

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  16. I love that wink and the “everything will be all right. When one is in nature, and under the vastness of the night sky, we know it will be – no matter what happens.

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  17. For a minute there I was with you. It was a beautiful moment. Thanks! By the way, how are the shingles coming along? Improving, I hope.

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    1. Thank you so much, Bev. The medication has worked and I am feeling much better. I’m still taking painkillers at night as it’s still very uncomfortable, but otherwise it’s back to normal, or as normal as it can be at the moment. I hope you’re keeping well and safe. 😊

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  18. A beautiful, peaceful elating poem Loved it My favourite lines “the moon smiled enigmatically
    at the brightest star” and the reassuring line “Take a breath, everything will be all right.’”

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  19. I love this. It made me join you in that moment and cherish mine. I love the moon on its back, the stars even the darkness between them. Tonight I’ll go outside. Though I don’t think the moon will be out, I’ll think of this poem and enjoy the moment.
    Lovely writing.

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  20. Lovely! I have known moments, such as this … though they are rare … it is as if, everything in the heavens aligns with your spirit and you feel it at your very core … so deep, there is a feeling of personification in that connectedness … and it is felt physically. The word ‘transcendence’ seems to be becoming a bit overused and even, at times, cliché … but yes, that is the closest word I can think of to describing that peace.

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  23. it takes moments like these, looking up at the night sky, to realize how small and insignificant we humans can be. yes, the chest can hurt and the lungs feel they are alight. 🙂

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