Moon Sweeper

This was written by my younger daughter about Gaylen.

This short-story is dedicated to my Mom who has loved many an odd person in her life & is better for it.

MOONSWEEPER

Once upon a time there was a man who loved the moon.
He loved the big, full, orange moon of the fall, the pale white moon of winter, and the yellow moon that came in summer.

During new moon he would quietly mourn the absence

of his round-faced friend,

and when the full moon would reappear he would be
filled with joy, as if seeing it for the first time.
As this man who loved the moon grew older,

an amazing thing began to happen.

His body was aging, but his mind was not.

He could still look at things with true wonder in his eyes,

and be happy just to see them.

The people around him changed.

Some of them grew up and moved away,

some just got older, and others died.

But the man who loved the moon remained the same.
He greatly mourned the loss of his friends,

but the moon could always cheer him.
As time went on and his body aged he was moved

from what friends he still had to a
place that could care for him better.

But they did not know how he loved his moon
and not being with his loved ones and having a new moon

to look at was more than his heart could take.
Go outside on the next full moon.
Look at it. Really look.
See the texture and how the shadows fall to make a face.
Notice the color, the roundness and the size.
People don’t become angels and Heaven is the home to God’s saints,

but I think that once a month for a day or two God

lets one man take care of the moon,

the moon that was such a friend to him while he was on this earth.