Ars Poetica: Moonlight

for Scott

 

It’s the last full moon of the year

And here, I am thinking of beauty

 

Of the way we can bring the moonlight

Into the night of our room, the sky of

 

Our bed. It’s the last full moon of the year,

And I am thinking of love, its tender ways

 

Of showing yourself to your self, of how 

It makes us both fool and tyrant, both

 

Lover and child, and both breath and body.

You say, I am human, of course I like

 

Beautiful things, and I laugh at the urgency

Of your statement. Yes,  we are all creatures

 

Of wild hearts. I, a creature, you a creature; 

We are all just creatures of the night after all.

 

There is a magic to how we find each other

When we need each other; I believe that 

 

To be true, and as I feel the cold air pressed

Against the window, I comfort myself with love. 

 

This poem was originally published in North American Review, Fall 2025

 

About the Poem:

This poem is an ars poetica — a poem about something to do with the act of writing, of being a poet, or anything related to poetry.  This poem is also a nighttime poem, a nocturne.  What I love about this poem is that it is a very soothing, comforting poem, almost a lullaby.  The moon can be a mirror, can reflect us onto ourselves; so can love.  Sometimes, inspiration can be right outside our window, if we look and see. Sometimes, inspiration is in the quiet moments that don’t shake us awake, but find us calm, content.  Sometimes, all we can do is remember that love is what unites us all,  and there are so many ways to love our selves, and one another. This poem is from a new manuscript I’m writing of ‘ars poeticas.’

About the Poet:

Leah Umansky is the author of three collections of poetry, including her newest, OF TYRANT (Word Works Books 2024.) She earned her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and has curated and hosted The COUPLET Reading Series in NYC since 2011. Her creative work has been featured on PBS and The Slowdown Podcast, and in such places as The New York Times,  The Nation, The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A Day, POETRY, and American Poetry Review. She is an educator and writing coach who has taught workshops to all ages. She can be found at  www.leahumansky.com and at @leah.umansky on IG.