Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE SUN AND THE MOON, by ZULA BENNINGTON GREENE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE SUN AND THE MOON, by                    
First Line: Take a lesson, my daughter, from the sun and the moon
Last Line: Take a lesson, my daughter, from the sun and the moon.
Subject(s): Moon; Sun


Take a lesson, my daughter, from the sun and the moon.
If you would be loved, be like the moon, cool and gentle;
Be not like the foolish sun-maiden.
Every morning she is there and men grow weary of her;
Her warmth overwhelms them.
They hide in cool places so she will not find them --
Only when she covers her face with a thick veil of cloud
Do they think kindly of her.
Be not like the bold sun-maiden, my daughter,
Be like the moon.

Men love the moon;
They look eagerly to her coming.
She tantalizes them with her moods.
Now she is slim and silvery, poised on one slender foot,
And men sigh at her cool beauty.
Each evening she comes a little later, and stays a little longer;
She is never the same, my daughter,
She is a pale wandering spirit.
Each evening she grows fuller and more golden --
She knows when to run away and when to come closer,
Each evening men turn their faces to the sky and wait for her;
They watch for her with tenderness and joy.
She clothes her beauty in a misty veil;
She looks at man with languorous eyes,
And they do mad things.
When her beauty has reached its full,
She does not linger;
She knows men tire of too much sweetness,
And too much beauty,
And too much madness.
Then she fades slowly away,
Slips tantalizingly away,
Not like the princess at midnight,
But slowly, slumberously, before their eyes;
Wise moon!
She knows they will love her if she leaves them for a time,
But she does not let men forget her.
Again she shows herself, slim and silvery and new;
Again she beckons men and lures them with her beauty;
Again she blossoms to fullness;
Again she disappears.

Men love the moon.
The sun is good and faithful and gives them fruits,
Men need her, but they escape from her whenever they can.
The sun is their bread,
But the moon is their beauty;
It is the moon they love.
Take a lesson, my daughter, from the sun and the moon.





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