The Fish and the Moon

The Fish and the Moon

Liza Moore

I think of you as a poem sometimes
that I have stumbled upon
when all my wanting is still
and I sit waiting in your presence
outside of all time,
between manifest and mystery,
each word opening a vast sky
beneath my feet.

And like Jacob
clutching the precious garment of his son,
awakening to truth,
I am reminded once more
why it is we talk to one another
through this door.

It is like a story I once heard
about the fish and the moon.

The fish,
seeing the moon’s face
upon its waters,
claimed to love the moon,
forsaking all the world gave
to be in that love.
So it was on one dark night
he dreamt with his heart
to fall upward
toward the sky,
and in his falling
was given wings
becoming a great bird.

But as his body approached
the greatness of the moon,
he found he could not see her
for her brilliance was too great.
And in that moment,
he began to doubt
the breath in his lungs,
the strength of his wings,
and fell down into the dark water
from which he came.

I think of you as a poem sometimes
that I have stumbled upon
when all my wanting is still
and I sit waiting in your presence
under the brilliance of your light
between layers of dark water
each breath peering deeper into the vast ocean
all around.

---

Liza Moore
Poet & Parish Director

Liza has three children's books including Love, the Tree, Mira and the Star that Fell to Earth, and How the Sky Loved Earth, which she wrote, illustrated, and self-published.

Photography by L’oeil D’eos