Tuesday, September 28, 2004

i miss the man in the moon

in my ears
negotiations and love songs 1971-1986
artist: paul simon
song: train in the distance


Maybe it was all that gushy talk after class with Jennie and Tessa about Hot Guy Bill and how deep he is, but something got me in a contemplative mood. After my awkwardly scheduled night class, I was naturally hungry. I'm also naturally out of food here at the ol' apartment, so I went to Burger King for a number six. Sitting there in my car in the drive-thru line trying to remember if my meal costs five dollars and two cents or five dollars and eight cents, I see the moon. Well, I'd seen the moon earlier this evening, noticing how perfectly full it is, and I remembered again our wonderful study of the lunar phases. But this time, instead of thinking, "oh, must be the middle of the lunar month" or anything of that nature, I notice the man. You know, the man in the moon. And that autumnal bittersweet feeling came over me again. And I wondered why I can't just look up at a celestial body and marvel that there is a face in it. No, I have to stop and think about the terrain, the mare and terrae that create the highlights and shadows on the surface. And for a few moments, I pitied the loss of innocence, ignorance. And I wondered if maybe it is better to not know. If ignorance is bliss. Or if that, too, is only an illusion, a delusion.

It is five dollars and eight cents, by the way.

No comments: