Moonrise

I see an orange moon arising.
I see a sparkling orange trail.
Could be the morning sun arising.
Not sure if time is here or there.

In celebration of temperatures lingering in the mid sixties well into the evening the other night, Motivated Mom and I took a short stroll on the boardwalk.  Far out over the ocean, hovering just above where the horizon would have been had the line not been hidden by purple twilight, was an orange full moon. Big enough to have been the sun breaking the horizon at dawn, the orange orb cast a trail of light that sparkled on the surface of the ocean.

Had it been morning, it would have been the once in a lifetime event tourists gather at the shore in pre-dawn  hours to witness - the morning sun rising in a cloudless sky, golden light kissing the cheeks of those watching in awed wonder.

Belatedly I realized that folks were embracing the awe of moonrise. Couples and groups sat huddled together on blankets hastily thrown on the sand. Occasionally a flash of brilliant white gave testament to a photographer capturing the moment.

No one spoke, neither those on the beach nor those on the boardwalk. It might have been 2:00 a.m. when the only sound is that of gentle surf kissing the sand. And I realized that for all of humankind's accomplishments, there is nothing that can capture us like the simplicity of nature.