Sometimes The Stars Move Backwards

The Moon is a morning object again,
a beautiful, thin crescent, almost gone.
It’s Friday now. The new Moon is Monday.
I like this time of month. The crescent Moon
greets me in the back yard every morning.
I know I won’t see it for a while, but
I know it will be back again, next time
the shadow line gets to the Sea of Clouds.
The Sea of Clouds is completely dark now.
It’s dark on the Moon. It’s dark in my mind.
I wish that I could feel as confident
of seeing the Sea of Clouds in my mind
illuminated again by the Sun
as I do of seeing the Sun return
to the Sea of Clouds on the lunar face.
The sky is a clockwork mechanism,
ticking, absolutely dependable.
My mind is gears and springs, rusted, bent up,
moving, then stopped, grinding, then spinning free.
I’m sailing the Sea of Clouds in my mind.
I’m hoping to see the sunrise soon, but
in this sky sometimes the stars move backwards.