Tag Archives: lake

Strawberry Moon

It is time to float on the waters of the night
to exhale the troubles of the day
balancing the wish to be lost
with the aching need to be found.

Immerse yourself in the burgeoning skies
revel in the raspberry sherbet sunset
and cast your eyes toward the east
where the strawberry moon beckons.

Rising low on the summer horizon
the moon casts its ambient pink glow
gently morphing and reflecting
in the undulating ripples of the lake.

Lazy clouds drift by in the cool breeze
encircling and embracing its radiance
casting shadows on the craggy surface
painting figments of the imagination.

Tell me your secrets, oh strawberry moon
rising high amidst the blanket of stars
fill me with your omniscient wisdom
and strength, to the depths of my tired bones.

Oh prophet of June, beacon in the sky
gliding home gracefully on your lunar path
tuck me in to sleep with tranquil dreams
until the morrow dawns with hope.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
June 3, 2023

Happy Saturday! This week I had two inspirations for my poem. First, looking through Billy Collins lines steered me – after all, he is one of my favorite poets and authors. I have quite a few of his poetry books and have always been inspired by his imagery and observations on life! And once again the moon proved to be a dependable muse.

It all happened by accident last night, when I was dressed in my workout clothes about to head down to the basement for a Bodi workout. I was wondering where Dan was, and I saw him out on the back deck. As I was walking out to talk to him, I saw it. The beautiful rising Strawberry Moon, tucked away behind the trees in the conservancy woods behind our yard. As if by pure reflex, I ran to grab my Nikon camera and iPhone and told Dan excitedly to look behind him at the moon.

To get a better view of the moon, I walked up the path on our ridge and then down to the lake so I could clearly view it on the Eastern horizon. The sun had already set, casting pink and blue swaths of light in the West behind me. Ahead of me it was getting dark, and the path was surrounded by a canopy of trees. As I made my way down to the water’s edge, the moon almost took my breath away. I began snapping away, undeterred by the mosquitos in the night air.

Dan followed me down, and we watched for about 30 minutes as the clouds drifted by, creating amazing images as it passed and encircled the moon. I caught some really cool images on my iPhone in which the clouds seemed to appear as a dog or demon to the right side of the moon! I haven’t gotten around to posting any of these on Instagram or Facebook, but the photos posted here are from my Nikon camera which I uploaded this morning. I was amazed at the detail of some of the images, which I shot WITHOUT a tripod.

This all serves as further inspiration for me to get out my camera more frequently. God works in mysterious ways, and I’m grateful the beauty of nature sidetracked me last night. It forced me to slow down and follow the moon with my camera. Work and life in general have kept me from this lifelong hobby, and now I can’t wait to get back to it. Nature photography is my passion, and lately I have just admired others’ work lately while neglecting my own. There doesn’t seem to be enough time in a day, but now I realize I must make time!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend filled with peace, rest or doing what you love the most!

xoxo Colleen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 48.14 – History Repeats
Hard Bonus: Quote or use a line by poet Billy Collins (“It is time to float on the waters of the night” & “balancing the wish to be lost with the need to be found”)
Easy Bonus: Mention your favorite author – Billy Collins, of course!