A spring storm passes over the reservoir at sunrise.
Last night I sat on the porch of the Little Cabin.
My husband to one side of me
My son on the other
My dog lying close by
In the new darkness of early night
And the crisp cold air of the end of winter
Fresh frosted brown earth exposed to the night air for the first time in so many months
The last reminder of daylight behind us, behind the cabin
Softly fading, easing off into the black sky
The rising moon light ever so gently illuminating
Snow covered peaks of the mountains surrounding us
Sitting silently so close and so far apart
As our thoughts wandered
As we awaited the rising of the moon
A bank of low clouds glowing more vibrant with each blink of the eye
Turning silver gold bright, heralding the coming of the moon
And then the arc of a pure white light clears the mountain
Slowly rising with the silhouette of the giant spruce trees
Trees and moon rising together before us in this silent, subtle display
As if lifted by an almighty source unseen
Growing to unreal proportions
Light behind trees, trees behind light, the shapes become blurred and blended
Then a perfect circle held steady with the shape of the trees now so small and low below
Trees on a ridge we have never quite noticed before
And for a brief moment my world was perfect
Sitting in silence as we stared off into a past and distant world
Floating freely, there but not really there
So calm and soothing in the crisp cold air and silver glow of the moon
And for a brief moment we were free from the troubles of the world within
Financial problems, family conflicts, uncertainty about the future and how we will arrive there and when, the aging dog, the college decisions, and what is this all for?
All this for just a brief moment in time, was left behind
In our own calm hush
Gazing at the past, the future and now
At the black shape of the spruce tree, tall and majestic in the perfect circle of the moon
The white noise steady rush of the recently open and wild river
We are briefly set free
By this silent and simple and cold and vast moon in the big sky before us
Wondering how many have looked up at this same moon
And too forgotten their worries
For just a brief moment in time.