On Moonlight and Flowers

I lie in the grass, gazing up at the moon - full in it's light as it hangs delicately in the sky,

as if it could freefall to earth any moment.

Or perhaps I could float to it, if I really tried...

In a blink, I'm dancing in the Sea of Tranquility, basking in unfiltered sunlight. I'm waltzing in step with Neil Armstrong

- or at least his footprints.

As quickly as they closed, my eyes open again and I'm reminded of the vast ocean of distance between us,

as a dark cloud -

itself almost unreachably high above me -

drifts over my eyes until it completely blocks your light from view.

The frown that my face twists into is well hidden by the newly formed shadows and I sigh a hundred breathless words.

Why did the cloud have to come? Why did the light have to fade? How long will I sit here in the dark?

Perhaps the Sun has dimmed. Perhaps the Moon has grown restless and drifted away. Maybe this darkness is all that's left.

I shake my head and speak out loud to no one but myself - The Moon is still there.

It's light still shines just as bright. The footprints have not melted away.

The darkness blocks my view but it cannot cloud my vision of you.

And soon it will pass, and darken some other patch of land.

Even when we cannot see it, the Moon is still there.

On the bookshelf sits a flower - a flower you used to wear in your hair.

It still sits there, but you are gone.

A tear rolls down my cheek, with nothing to hide behind but the emptiness that fills the house.

In a blink, we're dancing at my wedding sharing tears of joy. We're sitting at dinner, sharing our favorite dessert.

As quickly as they closed, my eyes open again and I'm reminded of the vast ocean of distance between us now. 

I wipe the tear from my face and sigh a hundred words I'll never get to say.

Why should the flower get to stay?

But it is plastic, never to die but never to live. 

You? You were real, and you were beautifully alive - before the darkness drifted over your eyes.

I look out the window where you used to watch the birds and I see the Moon, peeking out from behind the clouds.

In that moment, I know you are still with me. Your smile still shines just as bright. Your love has not faded away.

Even when we cannot see it, the Moon is still there.