Prayer for the Tattered Moon
A poem by Melanie Civin Kenion

Prayer for the Tattered Moon 

it is early morning and the sun is coming up. 
nothing special today,
the colors muted and pale
not the fluorescent paint I swoon over.

a ragged half moon hangs low in the sky, 
not halved evenly like I have seen a thousand times before
but appearing tattered like something, a bird or a mouse, 
has nibbled the edges. 
i wonder about the moon 
and think it would be a good title for a poem,
a prayer for the tattered moon. 

since it is my writing time 
i decide to write this prayer,
although I don’t know how prayer begins,
or how it ends.
i wonder if it comes from the mind or from the heart? 

to the tattered moon
i think i should start,
i am thankful to still see you are still here 
keeping company with the pastel sunrise.
shouldn’t you should be gone by now,
hidden from sight and forgotten ?
you surprise me with your whiteness
against the morning sky,
alone,
after the stars have disappeared.
i am grateful that today you have lingered. 

tattered moon. 
i see you now, 
keeping company with the morning clouds.
patient i watch as you are enshrined, 
sheer wisps engulfing.
i wait for you to reappear,
thankful to behold you. 

tattered moon, 
thank you for your gift of rolling tides.
should i drop to my knees in supplication, 
let the water flow over me?
should I wade,
feel your strong pull,
dip my body into 
the currents you command? 
I am grateful for the tides you bestow, 
a gift to humankind.

I look up from the page and the moon is gone, 
faded from the morning sky.
i am thankful to have witnessed it, 
tattered edges and all. 

About the Author:

Melanie Civin Kenion is a retired special education teacher living in Boston. When not writing poetry in the wee hours of the morning,  she enjoys people watching from her terrace, craft cocktails, and adventure travel. Her work can be found in The Prompt Magazine, Orenaug Mountain Poetry Journal, and Skink Beat Review.  

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