Ghost Moon
By John Herlihy

The ghost moon travels through many lands,
On silent footsteps, the darkness to reprimand.
Telling tall tales to the multitude of love and desire;
The people on earth respond with hearts on fire.
A ghost ship creating a flowing river of light;
The light then disappears into the ocean of night.

There it is, people wonder, rising above earth’s edge;
Their spirits rising with it, responding to its pledge.
The moon seems to just walk into our world by itself;
It is the master of ceremonial dreams, the lunar elf.
The moon waxes in silent eloquence day by day;
How is it possible it seems to chase all silence away.

The ghost dressed in the glow of its emerging light,
Hand-crafted by an invisible being with divine insight,
Only to wane once again as if shedding a garment,
Leaving behind the darkness in its dreaded torment.
The day finally comes to fruition and finally arrives;
The ghost moon has departed and no longer survives.

The lunar month expires and lays down to rest;
Will the beloved moon awaken its noble eye,
To steal the hearts of humanity like a furtive spy?
The ghost moon sighs as it disappears from sight,
In modesty, it hides its face for one moonless night.
Shadow moon, ghost moon, the one we never see.