An area of high pressure
heralded the clearest starlit sky
that befell the northern hemisphere.
No news or talk of it; no questions why,
except among the experts and the poets.
I saw her there, shimmering,
a vision unexpectedly imbued,
converging, as she was, with crescent moon
with brightest light of vestal pulchritude,
she has no equal in any other sphere.
It was as if no one had heard;
as though her visit was only meant for me
like no one knew of her great revelation.
She peered at me, through branches of a tree;
enticingly, she twinkled wistfully.
Her intentions, abundantly clear
I fancied that she missed a former lover,
as Juno reined the angry monster in.
and left her alone, save one significant other,
who longed to cradle her affection.
But she had only eyes for me
and warmed my soul in coldest dark of night.
Lucky are those, who see the poetry,
who can describe the meaning of her light,
that burns the skin with ancient holy fire.
But we know why she’s here; in truth
to hear the yearnings of a lonely heart,
that craves salvation from another world,
wherein may lie a greater amity and art
that illuminates a world where no one starves.
I know that she’ll be gone too soon,
elsewhere, her love and beauty to disperse,
and leave us feeling empty, but knowing she will
return one day to this, our universe,
to feel her love embrace the crescent moon.
© 2012 John Anstie
(With the high pressure that is lodged over Great Britain at the present time and the clear skies we have enjoyed as a result, last night revealed an astonishing view of Venus in conjunction with a new moon. It was an irresistible view, even through the branches of our trees, it was so bright. I just didn’t feel the cold of the late evening, when I took the photo, it was actually about 11:15pm. In previous weeks, Venus has been in conjunction with Jupiter, which I couldn’t see last night; hence the reference to Juno.
For those with an interest in photography, I took the photo with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 Prosumer SLR, zoom to the max at 400mm 1 sec at f6.3 Film speed ISO 200. The camera was tripod mounted, but I suspect some shake as evidenced by fact that Venus looks rather like a dove on the wing, which I rather like )


Lovely! And your beautiful words pair perfectly with the delicacy of the photo.
It’s good to know you enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me know.
A beautiful poem and photograph…the night sky lures me and especially the moon. So great you could capture Venus and the new moon…a poem written in the sky
“as though her visit was only meant for me” — this line says it all. Love that feeling when, admiring some wonder in nature, it seems as if I’m the only one in the world, and the sight is just for me. Really enjoyed your poem of the night sky. Even though it isn’t uncommon, I always feel like I’m witnessing something rare and wonderful when there is a conjunction of the moon and Venus; even more so if Jupiter is there too. Like you, I very much like the way Venus looks like a dove on the wing in your photo. Beautiful pairing of poem and image.
An engaging poem with a keen sense of the historical and romatic part played by Venus in our cutural history. Great job!
Sorry John, that should read ‘romantic.’
Thank you for the compliment, James. I like the word, romatic, though I know you corrected it later, I think it should enter common usage as meaning ‘romantic with a cold’. And it was chilly out there on the night!
Gorgeous. Caught me from the opening lines.
Wonderful poem John, and the picture is just, wow!
Thanks Stacey. The picture is not what you’d call technically high Q, but I love that Venus looks like a dove in flight…
Venus, represents love on an intense emotional level
the moon is the shadow that will reflect her light, letting
you see and feel what you need to see and feel…
yes for you I think …
The poem is very much with the photo…
You write beautifully …
Thank you for sharing
Take Care….
)0(
ladybluerose
Thank you, LadyBlueRose, for your comment and for taking time to visit. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with this one. It is just that; all about the intense light of love…
you are very welcome, I am enjoying reading your thoughts into words…
you have a really great energy running within you and your words…
Take care…
)0(
ladybluerose
wow john…this is very cool…both..pic and poem…they go hand in hand..capturing the wonder and yearning that casts a spell on the observer..sometimes i wish they could talk…but in a way they can…right?
You’re right, Claudia, they can talk.. in a a quintessentially poetic way: with the ultimate economy of words. Thank you so much for your visit and comment.
First the image is just stunning. Even looking at the moon/Venus pairing in my local horizon seemed to pale in comparison to your photo. With that out of the way, I much like how you seamlessly went from astronomical event to an almost fairy tale, your words precisely and wisely chosen, descriptive and told with the interested but seemingly detached voice of a storyteller. So much to admire here!
Thank you Ben. That is more than a cogent comment, if I may say. It is also very complimentary, and I appreciate that from you.
I really enjoyed your poem, John, because I too feel the magic in this celestial arrangement at the moment, like moons and planets are conspiring to bring us good fortunes of the heart.
Thanks for your comment, Q. It’s funny how I’ve been complaining about losing my muse lately, truth is I’ve been a bit busy with ‘worldly’ stuff. But, having tried to photograph the scene the previous evening, at the start of a really busy morning yesterday, it just hit me “Venus and The Crescent Moon” rolled into my head and it spilled out of my head from there. Strange isn’t it, but, as always, the skies above our heads, the universe and all its glory, always so inspiring. And, yes, let’s hope for good fortunes of the heart as well as in every other aspect of our lives.
Beautifully crafted poem, John ~ love the romanticism within it & your poignant hypothesis towards the end … but … just maybe … perhaps … Her visit was only meant for you?
Yeah, don’t know why I bothered sharing this, when I know she was only here for me
. And, speaking of romanticism, I think I should have put that line in somewhere: “she was amazing last night”.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Peter.