Lunar love at first sight: Why are we so bewitched by the full moon?
When poet and artist Frieda Hughes finds herself incapacitated, there’s solace in the ‘sky’
THE MOON-IN-A-BOX
My world slowed down to the speed of a crutch-thump
Beneath my operated knee. Meniscus membrane re-stitched to bone,
Hands now too occupied with rubber and metal to carry
Bowls of dog food or mugs of tea. Huskies rust in their run,
Taken out by someone else. I am superfluous.
The fabric of my daily routine has been ripped into strips
To bind my swollen leg, the flesh, purpled by keyhole surgery.
Those first days were disjointed by a Codeine haze
During which simple additions or the words on emails
Bubbled balloon-like, just out of reach of my understanding.
So, I chose pain in order to re-engage my brain.
Pain versus movement became the new negotiation;
Myself in conversation with myself, arguing about
The best use of myself. And then, out of the blue
Of the unpredictable, towelled in the arms of a friend,
Arrives the Moon-in-a-Box I’d bought from her art show;
It had been love at first sight, but she’d wanted to make
Better the metal, smooth out the iron sides and blacken the surfaces.
I peer into the depths of the circular opening and see
The wonder of the full moon gazing back at me.
The Moon-in-a-Box: www.gemmahughesartist.co.uk