Blue Moon

There are two types of blue moons: the seasonal blue moon which occurs when a season has four full moons, and the twice-monthly full moon. I was only familiar with the second sort. But come mid-August and the fourth full moon of summer, I learned something new. I wrote this poem as we awaited the last twice-monthly blue moon. Amazingly, the color was the same.  

Blue Moon

Three years in the waiting.

The gloaming

now inky enough to pen night's coming,

underscore moonrise.

Which shade will she wear - 

winter-sky pastel or lily pond wash?

Off to the East

behind trailing scarves of clouds

her unhurried ascent:

a stunning blood-orange.

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor