Moon Song Poem by Wayne Wickham

Once upon a time, in a faraway land,
Underneath the mountains that resembled a hand,
There stood a dark castle, foreboding and grim,
With a moat all around, and cast iron trim.
There, in the castle lived a great evil king,
Of whom all demons and witches would sing.
But this was no ordinary king, there is that,
For this great evil king was merely a cat.
A cat with long whiskers, fur, and a tail,
Who, at night, would sit at his window and wail;
For he worshipped the moon goddess, so pale and bright,
And he wished her to come down with all of his might.
His cries and his wails would make grown men cry,
Yet, they went up unheeded to the tops of the sky.
Every night was the same, with his sad cries and moans,
In different songs, different tempos, and all sorts of tones.
His mind and his soul were evil through and through;
Yet, his heart was full of love, and his motives were true.

One evening around nine, when the moon was arose,
There came a shadowy form on a gray-speckled horse.
Down through the valley, dark and moonlit, he rode,
Until at last he arrived at the cat king's abode.
At the gate he dismounted, his cloak unfurling around,
And as he paused, he listened to the king's mournful sound.
He shook his head sadly and opened the gate;
Then proceeded to enter, heedless of his fate.
Into the castle he strode, and climbed the mighty stairs;
Whereupon he came to the king's room, and entered unawares.
There sat the king on the window sill, head raised to the sky,
Unaware of his visitor, as he let forth a longing cry.
The shadowy form moved silently across the great room,
Knowing that disturbing the king could surely mean his doom.
He reached the king, and slowly extended his hand,
And finally he spoke, 'Please stop. I'm here to help you understand.'

The king, upon being surprised in his chamber,
Jumped up defensively and said, 'Who are you, stranger? '
The stranger spoke calmly, 'I'm here to help you find your dream,
So that you no longer have need to wail and scream.
For months I have listened to your mournful crying sound,
As it rang through the valley, and the mountains did resound.
But now, I believe that I may have found a way
To bring your moon goddess down, and make her stay.'

The king, eyes wide with fear and surprise,
Said, 'Again, who are you, and why speak you these lies?
Tell me now how you think you know so much about me,
And answer me quickly, before your death I shall see! '

The form raised his hands and pulled back his hood,
Revealing himself to the king, right where he stood.
The king gasped in awe and fell to his knees.
He said, 'My lord, I knew you not! I beg you, forgive me, please! '
The stranger touched the king's head and spoke, 'Please rise.
I require no penance, and you need not apologize.'

'Now to the matter at hand, the moon goddess awaits.
But you must work quickly, for if the full moon abates
Your chance you will miss, and you'll be out of luck,
For you can only find her during the autumnal equinox.
Listen closely, my son, for all the work you must do,
Do exactly as I say, and thoroughly follow through.'

'First of all, there are reeds that you must go and find.
Any size or shape will do, and these you must then bind
All together with the finest hair from a unicorn's mane,
To form a flute with a tempered tone that will never wane.
This flute must be huge; large enough to fill this room,
With baffles and ropes, hinges and string, not unlike that of a loom.
Then open the windows, both here and on the other side.
Grab hold of your ropes, and tug open the baffles wide.
The tones that will flow will rival your wildest scream,
So practice you must, for the tones need to sound as if from a dream.
You must then choose a song, preferably something from the heart,
And once you've practiced and have the song, only then can you start
To lure your precious goddess down from the midnight sky.
But hurry, and get started, for the full moon draweth nigh! '

So the king gathered his thoughts, and proceeded as his visitor said,
And day and night went by, as the king never once saw his bed.
He worked round the clock, gathering hair, reeds, and things,
And through all that time, never once did he cry or sing.
Day in and day out he worked, until the time near approached.
Finally, it was finished, and worked exactly as he had been coached.

The next two days were hectic, as the king tried to find a song,
For everything that he knew, just seemed to turn out wrong.
Then, the night before the full moon would be gone,
As the darkness of night was brightening towards dawn,

The king, in frustration, lay his head on the window sill,
And a moon beam shone down, making him seem deathly still.
His mind was awash with a melody of notes and sound,
As a song filled his heart, trembling through him to the ground.
A symphony of music, with love and devotion at its core,
Broke through the king's eerie stillness, and he began to gently snore.
He awoke in the morning with the song ringing in his head,
And he sprang to his feet; his body free of months of dread.
Quickly he wrote the song down, lest he should forget a single note.
Then he went and adjusted the flute, cleaning off every speck and mote.
Through his practice, he had learned how every tone was made,
So now, all he had to do was wait until the sun had laid.

On throughout the day, the king wandered, thought and paced,
And when the sun had set, he was ready without a moment to waste.
He opened the windows and wrapped his hands around the ropes.
He closed his eyes, opened his heart, and wished upon his hopes.
The wind arose, blowing through the room, as the king had wished it might.
Outside, the darkness settled down, as day fell into night.
The moon had arisen, and her pale light was shining down
On every hill, stream and vale, and every village and town;
And on the king, too, as on the ropes he deftly worked.
The song flowed through the mountains, and every ear was perked.

The music was beautiful, exotic, and pleasing to the ear,
And the king's heart was lifted, for he was sure that she would hear.
For an hour or two or even more, the king played his majestic tune,
Which was heard throughout the mountains, in the country, and on the dune.
Everyone who heard it, lifted their faces to the sky,
For all were touched, and felt the love, as tears came to many an eye.

Finally the midnight hour came, and the king, wasted and tired,
Collapsed in pain and agony, for his time had now expired.
'She didn't come! She didn't hear! ' came the cry from the king,
As he knelt, wept, and felt the pain of his fallen hope's bitter sting.
His despair was utter, for his desires had come to a crash,
And he jumped to his feet, as before, but this time the flute to smash!
His heart and his soul were full of the utmost pain,
As he glared at the instrument that had been his folly and bane.
But try as he might, his strength was not up to the task,
And all he could do was look at the moon and dejectedly ask,
'Why? Why? ! Why have you rejected me? !
When all that I have praised has been your pale beauty? ! '
Again, the king fell and lay helplessly prone on the floor,
As his remaining strength and hope fled, and were no more.

Through dimming eyes, he saw the moon, and risked a quickening glance,
And there he saw a brightening form doing an exotic dance.
Down through the air the form twisted as it lithely descended,
Until, at last, on the king's window sill, the flight was ended.
She stood before him in all her pale beauty and her grace,
And the king's rage, despair, and agony were stunningly erased.
He slowly rose to his knees, bowing his head before her lovely sight,
And then she spoke, 'Rise, my lord, for I have come to you tonight.'

'Your music has touched me, reaching to the depths of my soul,
And now I feel fulfilled, for your song has made me whole.
I had been searching, for years, for one who is good and pure.
For years, I had found nothing, but now I believe I'm sure.
You have given to me something that I thought I'd never find,
And now I wish to give back to you something of the same kind.
I am yours, and shall willingly stay for as long as you will live,
And together, our love we'll share, and to each other we will give
Everything of ourselves, for together we will be one.
For now, both of our searchings and longings have been labeled as DONE! '

With these words, the king's strength returned as before,
And her took her into his arms and carried her out the door.
To her, he pledged his undying devotion, love, and care,
And dispelled all evil thoughts and deeds, as autumn leaves in the air.
The cat king ruled wisely all the rest of the days of his life,
As he was loved and cared for by his pale moon goddess wife.

And on that fateful night, as the king's long sought dream came true,
A shadowy form watched from the gate, and saw the whole thing through.
He smiled and turned, with a sparkling glint in his eye,
And he mounted his horse silently, as the stars twinkled in the sky.
He rode off into the night, knowing that all would be well.
And he never returned, nor was seen again...at least as the stories do tell.

WDW
©2-14-94