AUTISM | THE MOON | POETIC PROSE

The Extraordinary Ordinary Moon People

A Truth of Hope – How ordinary people give us courage.

When I was a child, I had a telescope. When times were troubling and to calm me down, I would sit at my desk by the window and gaze at the Moon through my looking glass in awe of her glorious glow quietly searching the lunar landscape for treasured spoonfuls of exotically named places on the surface of the Moon.

Luna, now she’s as cold as she can be, her face seemingly stoic from afar, a narrow spectrum of hazy hues blotched busily in misty shades of white, rocky gray, and charcoal ash, as if strewn all about from a dustbin dipped brush upon an angry painter’s palette, but hidden beneath her pallid face lies a heart as warm as gold.

Seas of Craters everywhere, those maritime-less mares, not a drop of water even there, yet still I did not care, just happy they were there, transfixed in my squeaky wooden chair in my tiny little room.

Into the “Sea of Tranquility” dipped the first human toes, and not a better place could be chose, the whole world now even knows, the most-watched Ocean’s Eleven, our flag among the heavens, yet now face down upon the lava sea. Yet, as serene as she may seem, she’s not a place for dreams, for not a wink did he sleep, in a tiny capsule cast beneath Mother Earth’s sleepless eye.

Nearby, the “Sea of Nectar”, now she’s a little darker, and although a little harder, squint your eyes and you will see her, though so far away from Earth here, she’s as sweet as she can be. Some say she is haunted, but I wouldn’t be daunted, she’s the runt of the bunch, and better than you judge her by her rings and her rays as they zig-zag ‘cross her plains, as nowhere’s quite the same as this calm and gentle sea.

Then, there’s the “Ocean of Storms”, sixteen hundred miles when she was born, and the biggest in the barn amongst all the lunar seas, between the lunar nights and between the lunar days, never ceases to amaze, they’re not storms but twilight rays. There’s no motion in her ocean, nor is there flotsam nor is there jetsam, nor will I ever forget when I first laid eyes upon her, overwhelmed by the presence of her grandiose enormity.

Those are days I won’t forget, the calmness that I felt, and to this day I often look, that’s all it ever took, in our quiet little nook, find us present there as one, when friends just would not come. To find solace from the chaos, her light would shine upon us, she and I together we would fight this, share the weight that fell upon us, give me strength despite this lifelong disability.

So, no matter what, no matter when, I go back where it began, look to the sky now as then, still she my only friend, still alone in my room, come what May or come what June, instilled deep within my heart lies my beloved glowing Moon…

I think there is a Moon and star for everyone, hidden behind the unseen smiles and sequestered faces of ordinary people whose presence, lent only by chance, grows within us, not surely at first, but only with the passage of time does awareness become evident and alight the generous gestures and simple graces these extraordinary people extend towards us, given that we just not look but truly see.

What then awakes within us is that possibility still awaits us, and won’t ever evade us, if only we recognize that chance, and with that chance grasped firmly in hand what will arise is a simple apparent truth. A truth of hope. A simple apparent truth that hope is a good thing, and maybe the best of things that life has to offer.

And know that even on the darkest of all our nights, the Moon is always there to cast light upon the hesitation that sometimes shallows our soul, and with awareness of her presence, as with the tides, pulls us from the shadows of doubt that shore us from our goals.

It is within these Extraordinary people that we will find the courage to reach out and take those sometimes scary steps that will take us beyond our perceived boundaries. So, with each step be mindful to constantly consider those people around you who love and believe in you, for those are your Moon People. Those are the Extraordinary Ordinary Moon People who will carry you to the Moon, or even further. We can all get there, that is if we truly believe it with all our hearts.

And if the stars sometimes just aren’t bright enough to guide us, or too dim that we fear we’ll lose our way? We all should rest easy, the Moon will always be there, always and ever after, she knows what we’re really after, she knows what really matters, she knows when we’re afraid, she’ll guide us along the way, and she’s always within our gaze, “Look to the Heavens” is what she’ll say, don’t have to speak don’t have to say, hold on tight and simply pray, then listen to just the words here, and know a single footstep towards her will keep us from going astray.

It’s been a long time since way back then, yet always do I look for my friend, and when my heart is breaking, my eyes still do awaken, from then and to the end, evermore my shining friend, I know you’re ever waiting, for all who truly listen to the tides that ever beckon.

And if I’m am not mistaken, my heart is overtaken, ever still and ever ‘litten, I think I see her winkin’, blink my eyes that I’m not dreamin’, my old friend that I’ve been missin’, her warm embrace again within me, and I see my Moon again . . .

It’s closing time round here, and I would like to offer some final words of rhyme as a dedication to all of you out there who inspire us in simple ways with simple things that truly are great things.

But first, consider that perhaps unknowingly, you just may find that you have already reached the Moon. With telescope aside and loved ones nearby, simply open your eyes – you may then realize that you’ve always been there – hand-in-hand you’ve found your Moon and as well indeed landed amongst those Extraordinary Ordinary Moon People who are the only stars you’ll ever need to light your days in your own little part of the galaxy.