Sihining Selene

Silver
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
- Walter de la Mare



Selene and Endymion, Moritz von Schwind
Oil on canvas, 1831


The moon was extraordinary last night, voluptuous and round, beaming so brightly it was as if Selene would climb right out of it and step down onto Earth.

According to Greek mythology, Selene is the personification of the moon, a pale beauty shimmering with light. There are several versions of her story, but the basic story is this; one night, she happened upon a very handsome shepherd asleep in a field. The man, Endymion, was the mortal son of Zeus, and Selene fell in love with him instantly. They became lovers.

Being immortal herself, Selene did not want Endymion to die and leave her alone, so she went to Zeus to ask him to make her love immortal. Zeus agreed, but on one condition...Endymion would have to sleep through eternity. Both Endymion and Selene agreed, and the handsome love of Selene lived with her through eternity, smiling in his sleep as he dreamed he held the moon in his arms each night as she visited him.

Such is the power of love, that we want it to be eternal, and we'd be willing to spend it in a dream world to have it.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It stormed here quite terribly today, but this evening is clear and bright again. I sat for a long time watching Selene rise in the sky. In all her silvery essence, she is once again casting shadows into the deep woods off the deck here in Weldon Spring, and I am mesmerized by her.

I wish you eternal love today.

The music choice today is Claude Debussy's "Claire de Lune" or (loosely translated) The Shining Moon.

I love that this video is so fittingly performed by women. I think Selene would be proud. Chien-wen Liang plays the violin, and the pianist is Mei-Ling Chieh from a recital performed in 2007 in Taiwan...enjoy!
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