WINGED WORDS WINDSDAY
Compiled & Edited by Rob Chappell
(@RHCLambengolmo)
Vol. 2, No. 35: June 28, 2023
It’s
Supermoon Season!
Introduction
By
the Editor
When the Moon is full and close to the closest point
in its orbit to Earth (its perigee), a full supermoon occurs. On such
occasions, the Moon will appear bigger and brighter than a typical full Moon,
and the difference is definitely noticeable! This year, we will have the
opportunity to view four supermoons – on July 3rd, August 1st,
August 30th (a Blue Moon),
and September 29th (the Harvest Moon).
In honor of our first supermoon of the year, here are some favorite poems about
the Moon from across the centuries.
“Hymn
to Hecate”
Excerpted
from the Theogony (Lines 404-452)
By
Hesiod (fl. ca. 700 BCE)
Translated
by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914)
Editor’s Note: Hecate was a much-revered member of the ancient Greek pantheon. Her triple aspect as Maiden, Mother, and Elder led to her being symbolized by the Moon in its waxing (maiden), full (mother), and waning (elder) phases.
Again, Phoebe came to the desired embrace of Coeus. Then
the goddess through the love of the god conceived and brought forth dark-gowned
Leto, always mild, kind to men and to the deathless gods, mild from the
beginning, gentlest in all Olympus. Also she bare Asteria of happy name, whom
Perses once led to his great house to be called his dear wife.
And she conceived and bare Hecate whom Zeus the son
of Cronos honored above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the
earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honor also in starry heaven, and is honored
exceedingly by the deathless gods. For to this day, whenever anyone of men on
earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favor according to custom, he calls
upon Hecate. Great honor comes full easily to him whose prayers the goddess
receives favorably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is
with her. For as many as were born of Earth and Ocean amongst all these she has
her due portion. The son of Cronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all
that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the
division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in
heaven, and in sea. Also, because she is an only child, the goddess receives
not less honor, but much more still, for Zeus honors her. Whom she will, she
greatly aids and advances: she sits by worshipful kings in judgement, and in
the assembly whom she will is distinguished among the people. And when men arm
themselves for the battle that destroys men, then the goddess is at hand to
give victory and grant glory readily to whom she will. Good is she also when
men contend at the games, for there too the goddess is with them and profits
them: and he who by might and strength gets the victory wins the rich prize
easily with joy, and brings glory to his parents. And she is good to stand by
horsemen, whom she will: and to those whose business is in the grey
discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hecate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker,
easily the glorious goddess gives great catch, and easily she takes it away as
soon as seen, if so she will. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase
the stock. The droves of kine and wide herds of goats and flocks of fleecy
sheep, if she will, she increases from a few, or makes many to be less. So,
then. albeit her mother’s only child 1617, she is honored amongst all the
deathless gods. And the son of Cronos made her a nurse of the young who after
that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Dawn. So from the
beginning she is a nurse of the young, and these are her honors.
Homeric
Hymn #32: “To the Moon”
Translated
by George Chapman (1559-1634)
The
Moon, now, Muses, teach me to resound,
Whose
wide wings measure such a world of ground;
Jove’s
daughter, decked with the mellifluous tongue,
And
seen in all the sacred art of song.
Whose
deathless brows when she from heaven displays,
All
earth she wraps up in her orient rays.
A
heaven of ornament in earth is raised
When
her beams rise. The subtle air is sais’d
Of
delicate splendor from her crown of gold.
And
when her silver bosom is extolled,
Washed
in the ocean, in day’s equaled noon
Is
midnight seated; but when she puts on
Her
far-off-sprinkling-luster evening weeds,
(The
month is two cut; her high-breasted steeds
Man’d
all with curled flames, put in coach and all,
Her
huge orb filled,) her whole trims then exhale
Unspeakable
splendors from the glorious sky.
And
out of that state mortal men imply
Many
predictions. And with her then,
In
love mixed, lay the King of Gods and men;
By
whom made fruitful, she Pandea bore,
And
added her state to the’ Immortal Store.
Hail,
Queen, and Goddess, the’ ivory-wristed Moon
Divine,
prompt, fair-haired! With thy grace begun,
My
Muse shall forth, and celebrate the praise
Of men
whose states the Deities did raise
To
semi-deities; whose deeds t’ endless date
Muse-loved
and sweet-sung poets celebrate.
Chang’e
is the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology. This anonymous painting was based
on an original painting by Tang Yin (1470–1524). (Image Credit: Public Domain
via Wikimedia Commons)
Orphic Hymn #8: “To the Moon”
Translated
by Thomas Taylor (1758-1835) with Slight Revisions by the Editor
“But [Jupiter] fabricated
another boundless Earth, which the immortals call Selenë [Moon], but
[Earthlings call it] Menë [Month]. which has many mountains, many cities, many
houses." – Fragment from the Orphic Rhapsodies
Hear,
divine queen, diffusing silver light,
Bull-horned
and wandering through the gloom of Night.
With
stars surrounded, and with circuit wide
Night’s
torch extending, through the heavens you ride:
Female
and Male with borrowed rays you shine,
And
now full-orbed, now tending to decline.
Mother
of ages, fruit-producing Moon,
Whose
amber orb makes Night’s reflected noon:
Lover
of horses, splendid, queen of Night,
All-seeing
power bedecked with starry light.
Lover
of vigilance, the foe of strife,
In
peace rejoicing, and a prudent life:
Fair
lamp of Night, its ornament and friend,
Who
gives to Nature’s works their destined end.
Queen
of the stars, all-wife Diana hail!
Decked
with a graceful robe and shining veil;
Come,
blessed, divine, prudent, starry, bright,
Come
lunar-lamp with chaste and splendid light,
Shine
on these sacred rites with prosperous rays,
And
pleased accept your suppliant’s mystic praise.
“The
Moon”
By
Sappho (ca. 630-570 BCE)
Translated
by Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904)
The
stars about the lovely Moon
Fade
back and vanish very soon,
When,
round and full, her silver face
Swims into
sight and lights all space.
“Eldorado”
By
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
Gaily bedight, a gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long, singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
But he grew old — this knight so bold —
And o’er his heart a shadow —
Fell as he found no spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
And, as his strength failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow —
“Shadow,” said he, “Where can it be —
This land of Eldorado?”
“Over the
Mountains of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,” the shade replied, —
“If you seek for Eldorado!”
“Moonlight,
Summer Moonlight”
By
Emily Jane Brontë (1818-1848)
‘Tis moonlight, summer moonlight,
All soft and still and fair;
The solemn hour of midnight
Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere,
But most where trees are sending
Their breezy boughs on high,
Or stooping low are lending
A shelter from the sky.
And there in those wild bowers
A lovely form is laid;
Green grass and dew-steeped flowers
Wave gently round her head.
“The New Moon”
Excerpted from Carmina
Gadelica (1900)
Collected by Alexander
Carmichael (1832-1912)
Hail to thee, thou new moon,
Guiding jewel of gentleness !
I am bending to thee my knee,
I am offering thee my love.
I am bending to thee my knee,
I am giving thee my hand,
I am lifting to thee mine eye,
O new moon of the seasons.
Hail to thee, thou new moon,
Joyful maiden of my love !
Hail to thee, thou new moon.
Joyful maiden of the graces !
Thou art travelling in thy course.
Thou art steering the full tides ;
Thou art illuming to us thy face,
O new moon of the seasons.
Thou queen-maiden of guidance.
Thou queen-maiden of good fortune,
Thou queen-maiden my beloved,
Thou new moon of the seasons !
The Earth rises behind the Moon, as photographed
from the Artemis 1 spacecraft in December 2022. (Photo Credit: NASA – Public
Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
“The
Moon”
By
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
The Moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbor quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.
The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the Moon.
But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the Sun shall arise.
“Moonrise”
By
Bliss Carman (1861-1929)
At the end of the road through the wood
I see the great Moon rise.
The fields are flooded with shine,
And my soul with surmise.
What if that mystic orb
With her shadowy beams,
Should be the revealer at last
Of my darkest dreams!
What if this tender fire
In my heart’s deep hold
Should be wiser than all the lore
Of the sages of old!
“The
Queen of Night”
By
Bliss Carman (1861-1929)
Mortal, mortal, have you seen
In the scented summer night,
Great Astartë, clad in green
With a veil of mystic light,
Passing on her silent way,
Pale and lovelier than day?
Mortal, mortal, have you heard,
On an odorous summer eve,
Rumors of an unknown word
Bidding sorrow not to grieve, —
Echoes of a silver voice
Bidding every heart rejoice?
Mortal, when the slim New Moon
Hangs above the western hill,
When the year comes round to June
And the leafy world is still,
Then, enraptured, you shall hear
Secrets for a poet’s ear.
Mortal, mortal, come with me,
When the Moon is rising large,
Through the wood or from the sea,
Or by some lone river marge.
There, entranced, you shall behold
Beauty’s self, that grows not old.
