Monday, February 19, 2007

Crescent Moon

At dusk this evening, just above the roofs of the row of houses across the street, the last sliver of a waning crescent moon, with Venus to the southwest, large and bright against the almost-black blue. I carried Luisa up to my room to show her the beautiful sight: "Moon," she said, "and a star."

And I remembered driving along Campus Drive at Stanford in my friend Libby's VW Bug, with a Dead tape on, "Lady with a Fan," and just as we saw the crescent moon and Venus in the darkening sky, "Terrapin Station" began:

Counting stars by candlelight
Some are dim but one is bright
The spiral light on Venus
Rising first and shining best
Oh, from the north-west corner
Of a brand new crescent moon
Where crickets and cicadas sing
A rare and different tune
Terrapin Station
In the shadow of the moon
Terrapin Station
And I know we'll be there soon

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm! I'm picturing it ... You and Luisa are silhouetted against the window-framed scene and Luisa is pointing an index finger toward the celestial sight, as she puts her night-sky inventory into words ... in English, I notice!
Wish I knew the song's tune, so I could add its music to the overall effect of the image!
-- dhsh

Unknown said...

i don't know you but i somehow stumbled upon your site...i happen to be listening to terrapin station right now and i was just singing the lyrics to my friend. I love the music the grateful dead have made and the amazing times i have had as a result. Peace man, glad to see there are lovers out there.
_Ariel