Day 28: The Moon Is a Silent Cymbal

Happy National Poetry Month 2023! Curious about what I’m doing? Want to play along? Read more here.

[Heads-up: If you’re visiting regularly, please know that the bold, blue text is what I’m writing fresh each day. The black text is the same each day:>) ]

The dragon must’ve exhausted me, because I immediately picked rest as my topic. But then none of the words went with it. When I saw “moon,” though, I felt that peaceful, calm feeling the moon gives me. Its steadiness and pale stillness is a beautiful anchor in the night sky. And “languid.” That makes me picture the moon up there lounging in a silver robe as it shakes its head, amused, at earthlings’ antics. Those words weren’t exactly available, though! The music words I saw also called to me, so that’s what I went with.

I have many favorite moon books, including my own gorgeously-illustrated-by-Jaime-Kim If You Were the Moon, plus Susanna Leonard Hill’s Moon’s First Friends. And I can’t wait for Melissa Stewart’s Thank You, Moon, and Irene Latham’s The Museum on the Moon, both coming later this year. 

What words will we be digging through today?

And here’s the card that we might pull our topic from:

So some possible topics are:

  1. escape
  2. control
  3. shift
  4. return
  5. computer

Will you join in? Would love to see what you come up with!

 

16 Responses

  1. Translucent music, night orchestra… that’s a beautiful new image of the moon.

    The music words spoke to me, too. The image is my daughter who played violin through middle school and high school.

    Music🎻

    Fingering fiddle
    Spirit free
    Music speaks
    I dance

    1. Diane, our daughters have kindred spirits. My youngest daughter played viola through elementary school, MS, HS, and college. I miss watching her play. I enjoy the sounds your alliteration and consonance make; it sounds like a song. I love the images you create.

  2. Laura, I love the title of this post too “The moon is a silent cymbal” readies us for your lovely wuiet poem. I liked that word languid and you used it so well here. I love “mouthing translucent music”

    Diane, lovely alliteration in that first sweet line, and I love that we both thought of the effect music has on our spirits.

    My title isn’t quite right, but I guess this can also be restful…

    Rest
    Moon music
    Frees your spirit
    For a long loving dance

    1. Denise, nice sounds with your alliteration and consonance. I like that it is the “moon music” that “frees your spirit” and I like that it is a “long” and “loving dance.” It’s interesting that Denise, you and I used the words free, music, and dance. Diane, Laura, and I used moon and music. Diane and I both chose fiddle, free music, and dance. Denise and Diane both used spirit and other alike words.

    2. Denise, I mostly come up with titles just to have something for the blog post title! :>D But I tend to think of the tile word as the actual title. I did like the silent cymbal metaphor, though–so, thanks! This is beautiful. It took me back to the funeral of a friend’s husband. He had planned his own ceremony, and they played Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” a song I didn’t know. Although I don’t think your poem’s about death, there’s such a peaceful feeling about it, and it brought me back to that sad but gorgeous time of celebrating a person’s life and a couple’s love. Thank you for writing…

  3. Well, I’m late starting NPM due to a long Covid illness. Laura, I think I understand the process and thank you for putting so much effort into NPM. I will go backwards in time to write more with your prompts.

    Music

    I long to
    fiddle fast
    dance free on
    summer moon

    1. Oh, Gail, welcome back. I’m so sorry about your long Covid illness. I love your poem, and it’s even better knowing what you’ve been through lately. “fiddle fast” and “dance free” are my favorites.

    2. Gail, I’m so sorry! I hope you’re feeling better now. What a joyous and carefree poem this is. It’s splendid!

  4. Laura, I am sorry I forgot to comment on the beautiful imagery in your poem. I love how you personify the moon, its languid moon, and you chose translucent music. I was going to use translucent because I love that word, but it didn’t fit. Thank you for this exercise.

    1. Oh, goodness. No worries, Gail. Doesn’t it hurt when there’s a word you *want* to use and just can’t fit it anywhere?

  5. Music with the moon makes one wonderful image! (Still working on PF posts)

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,547 other subscribers

Are You Looking For?

Poetry Friday posts

Classroom Connections posts

All my poetryactions

Go to my Poetry page for:

  • National Poetry Month projects through the years
  • Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
  • Introductions to several favorite poetry forms
Tags
#waterpoemproject15 Words or Less Poems20for2030 Painless Classroom Poems50 State Poemsacrosticsactivity pagesactivity sheetALAA Leaf Can Be...Amy Ludwig VanDerwaterA Need to FeedanthologiesanthologyA Rock Can Be...art projectsaudiopoemsawardsbad newsBarbara Juster EsbensenBilly Collinsbiopoemsblog tourbookalikesbook festivalsBookSpeak!book spine poemsbook trailersbop poembyr a thoddaidcafepresscalendar poemsCamp Read-a-LotCan Be... bookscan be... poemsCapstoneCarol Varsalonacascade poemsCatherine FlynnccbcCCRA.W.3CCRA.W.4CCRA.W.5centoschapter booksCharles Waterschoral compositionschristina rossetticinquainsCLAclassified ad poemsclassroom connectionclassroom connectionsClover Kittyconferences and conventionscrown sonnetscybilsdansaDare to DreamDavid Elliottdeeper wisdom poemdefinitosdiamantesdiversitydizaindodoitsuDot DayDouglas Floriandownloadablesdrum corpse.e. cummingsekphrastic poemsepistolary poemsequation poemsessentialethereeseventsexquisite corpseFairy Tale Garage Salefamilyfibonaccifiction picture booksfinding familyfirefightersforeign editionsfound poemsfree author zoomsfree versefrom studentsgeesegeorgia heardghazalGift Taggiveawaygolden shovelgoldilocksgratitudehaikuheart of aheart of a teacherHeidi MordhorstHelen FrostHighlightshow-to poemshow to make a rainbowI Am FromI Am poemsidiomsif you want to knit some mittensIf You Were the MoonILAimagepoemsinterviewin the middle of the nightIRAIrelandIrene LathamJ. Patrick LewisJanet WongJoyce SidmanKendraKerlanKidlit Comboslailaura's board booksLaura's booksLaura's poemsLaura's readingsLaura ShovanLee Bennett HopkinsLilian MoorelimericksLinda Booth SweeneyLine Leads the WayLion of the Skylist poemslittle free librarylive writingLullaby and Kisses Sweetlyricsmadness poetrymagnipoemsmargaret simonMarilyn Singermary lee hahnmask poemsMatt Forrest EsenwineMeet My FamilyMelissa StewartMentors for Rentmentor textsmetaphorMichelle Myers LacknerMillbrookMinnesota Book Awardsmoneymoonmy reading lifemy writing processN+7naaninarrative poemsNational Poetry Month 2012 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2014 (riddle-ku)National Poetry Month 2015National Poetry Month 2016National Poetry Month 2017 (#wonderbreak)national poetry month 2018 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2020National Poetry Month 2021 (#EquationPoem)national poetry month 2022 (sticky-note poems)National Poetry Month 2023 (Digging for Poems)National Poetry Month 2024 (magnipoems)ncteNerdy Book Clubnifty newsnifty stuffNikki Grimesnonfictionnonfiction booksNonfiction Writers Dig Deepnovelsnovels in verseodesOne Minute Till BedtimeoppositifyOskar's VoyagepadletpantoumsparodiesPatreonpeacepersonalpet poemsphotopoetryphrase acrosticspicture booksplagiarismpoempicspoemspoems for two voicespoemsketchpoetic pursuitsPoetry 7poetryactionspoetry activitiesPoetry Blastpoetry booksPoetry FridayPoetry Friday AnthologiesPoetry Princessespoetry promptspoetry sistersPoetry Tips for Teachersprogressive poempublishing processpuddle songPutridquotationsraccontinosRandy Salasread-aloudreadaloudreading poetry in the classroomRebecca Kai Dotlichrecipe poemsrefugeesresearchreview copiesreviewsrevisionrhyming booksrhyming nonfictionrhyming picture booksRhyming Picture Books the Write Wayrhyming poemsRiddle-kuriddle poemsRock Can Be...Rock the Blogrondeau redoublesRudyard Kiplingsalas snippetsSCBWIschool visitsScotlandseasonssecrets of the loonSELsestinasshrinking daysskinnyskypeslice of lifesmall readssnack snooze skedaddlesnowman-coldsonnetsStampede!storm poemstorytimestorywalkstudent poemsstudent workSylvia VardellTanita Davistankatautogramteachableteacher resourcesteen/adult poemsterza rimasthankfulthank yous and referencesthe business sidethings to do iftracy nelson maurertrioletstunie munson-bensonvideosVikram MadanvillanellevillanellesWater Can Be...wealthy elementaryWe BelongWhat's InsideWhy-kuwinterwonderwonderbreakword of the yearwordplaywordsmithswork for hirewritingwriting bookswriting processwriting promptswriting the life poeticyoung authors conferencesYouTubeZapZap Clap Boomzenozentangle
Show More Show Less

Discover more from Laura Purdie Salas

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Join Laura's monthly newsletter for eductators

Get three of Laura's favorite poetry activities when you subscribe to "Small Reads."