Selene Anthology

Part One: You Are But a Figment of the Unreachable Sky

As our sky darkens
you reveal to us your round silver breadth
slowly bleeding your nocturnal light
unto the gravel roads that crunch beneath my feet.
Yet how am I to know
that you are truly there
like the sun that shines with full force
and brings light into the day?
For I cannot feel you burn my skin,
or watch you grow the vines
that climb up the walls of my garden
and wrap around my fence.
I cannot touch your pale grey surfaces,
nor can I define
the parameters of your light.
And if I cannot feel your harshness burn,
or see you light our world,
then I cannot know
that you are anything but
a figment of the unreachable sky.

Part Two: Apollo

There was once a time where we found the moon to be beyond the limits of humanity. Although we knew it was there, we were unable to touch it like we could touch the soil of our earth, or writhe as we feel its radiation burn us like how when the sun turned us crimson red. All it could be was a figment of our humble night sky, accompanied by all the other almost mythical creatures for us to write folk tales of. Yet today we unlock the chest to the mystery of the moon, and I will walk across it like how I walk across God’s Green Earth. I will no longer wonder about what lies beyond the unreachable sky. From today, the sky will no longer be unreachable. It will be mine, and my country will once again conquer what was left for us to discover. I will feel its pale-grey stone, and I will revel in the one small step for man; I will find contentment in the one giant leap for mankind.

Part Three: Selene

Mother of the night, Selene guides me to the arms of gentle sleep. Moonlight gently blankets me, and I pay careful attention to every part of it that lays on my skin. I profess my love beneath her, and my tears from which are turned silver by her softly-spoken words of light. In the beauty of the ancient moon, I find serene tears washing away the brutal lesions of day.

Part Four: Find Pride in How Your Reflection Sparkles the Sea

Cool night air
has rained upon me
leaving the sky unclouded
pellucid where it has not been strangled
by artificial lights
or unwelcome smog.
Embedded in the wide navy yonder
is our lunar goddess
shining softly in the sea.
I find beauty in how her light does not burn
or bring pain to the eyes of those who wish to see her.
And even so,
she does not let herself fade
until we are unable to see her silver allure.
Her soft round face opens her mouth to speak her affirmation,
“Find pride in how your reflection sparkles the sea.”

Cerys Gibby – Year 10