Ten Views of the Moon

 (haiku)

1.

harvest moon

great wheel riding the sky

keeps pace with us

2.

the moon’s face

smiled in through my window

all my childhood

3.

stormy moon

on a wild ride half-glimpsed

through shadowy clouds

4.

I’m with Omar:

Ah, moon of my delight

that knows no wane!

5.

after the night 

I keep within me the moon’s

persistent light 

6.

morning –

the moon sinks from the sky

into the sea 

7.

dark night –

without that bright face

I’m lonely 

8.

full moon

in a ring of clouds

gazing back 

9.

daylight moon

ethereal as cloud

ghostly on blue

10.

the moon –

even in a sliver

fully present

This came from an exercise: to write 10 haiku about the moon, then remove the word 'moon' everywhere and craft a new poem from what remains. I did, but I liked this haiku sequence better than my final poem. 

(NB: The plural of 'haiku' is 'haiku'.)

Sharing (off-prompt) with Poets and Storytellers United at Friday Writings #215 .

Points

 

Look closer, fool.

There are five points

on this star, not six. 

No need to bash me

(or stab or shoot me)

for being a Jew. 

Though 

you might want to burn me

for being a witch.

More reasons than one, today

to hide my pentacle

under my shirt.

The Jewish Star of David is a six-pointed star. A pentagram is a five-pointed star. A five-pointed star in a circle is called a pentacle, and is regarded by Pagans (which includes witches) as a symbol of The Goddess. Most Pagans do wear their pentacles – and most wear them hidden under their clothing, as people of other spiritual paths often have very strange ideas about witches and can express hostility in ways we'd rather live without. 

Lately, many people are horrified at what is going on in Gaza, and feel angry with the Israeli government. (This does not mean we condone the also-horrifying actions of Hammas, to which Israel responded in this way.) Some people blindly blame all Jews for the situation in Gaza, and use that as an excuse for anti-Semitic attacks.

Many people commonly mistake the pentacle for a Star of David – which gives Pagans all the more reason to keep our pentacles hidden now.

(It's a bit of a worry when the notes are longer than the poem!)

Them

(Sydney, February 2026 )

We stopped calling them pigs

decades ago. 

So long since they rode their horses

into us

or charged us with batons raised

and wielded.

I sort of knew there were still

bad apples …

(I suddenly become aware) I thought I

was immune

with my white skin and my

middle class.

I watch the news tonight

and now

I know that no-one’s immune from

the bash

and none of them is immune from the

power buzz

as they wade into the crowd with

active fists.

One night is all it takes. At 86, instantly

I’m re-radicalised.

(I dare say it’s very unfair to

real pigs.)

Of course, what this doesn't address is, where do their orders come from? (Rhetorical question.)