Black Ink and Parchment

The moon has seen more than she wishes and more than we thought. She has seen…

1. First kisses on a porch
2. Sidewalk confessions
3. Crying in the car before going inside
4. One too many drinks
5. Almost breakups that became fresh starts
6. Sneaking out of windows
7. A phone screen’s glow with forbidden messages
8. Daylilies closing up for the night
9. Stars that fall from grace
10. Souls whispering about each other
11. An accident no one will ever know
12. Tears on a mother’s cheek
13. Flashing red and blue lights on puddles
14. The last frost of winter
15. Empty souls meeting for the first time

She may not want to see all of it, but the moon holds all our secrets, even the one we hide from ourselves. Not everything we hide is a mistake. Sometimes we keep things to ourselves to protect them from the brutality of the world because it will rip apart our sins, only to put them on display for the world, encouraging us to judge each other like we don’t have anything to hide ourselves.
So, the moon holds it all for us. Allowing us to share the darkest parts of ourselves with something that never judges or questions. The moon just slips our sins into her pockets and carries them with her, and we never have to wonder if they will fall down like stars. Could we all aspire to be the moon? Keeping another’s secret instead of trading it like currency?

Words paint bonds between us, erasing our loneliness so we don’t have to share everything with a distant object who never answers back or could never understand. What kind of place have we created where we would rather speak to distant objects than to someone who can help us here and now? We may be broken, but that doesn’t give us an excuse. Even the moon is pockmarked with scars, and she keeps everything. Even when she turns away from us, she always returns to hear more.

Hold a secret like the moon. Remember she has your darkest secrets.