Rosemary Anderson
Look at the moon, it’s red –
its normal colour is white, he said
on the phone that night. Didn’t you know?
Say the word eclipse and I’ll show you
a blood moon over the water.
Does Endymion dream
of his hot-flushed red queen?
A heart in a body of cloud,
a goddess in a golden-edged shroud? – not just
a blood moon over the water.
And does Helios lament
a life lightly spent –
eyes blinded by rays
high up on his dais, never
a blood moon over the water.
He told me to wait
said the best stars rise late
hold the shiver, dive
I’ll meet you outside,
(and together we’ll ride)
a blood moon over the water.
But alone
I watch colour drain from the skies.
Alas and farewell, wine-coloured tides!
For nothing she stays,
a lie chasing days, at last
the blood moon sinks through the water.