Sometimes the moon lights up the night sky so brightly that we can’t see the stars. Sometimes the moon modestly makes its presence known as only a pale disk. Either way, who isn’t delighted when the Full Moon comes around? Frank Tassone, here, host of another Haibun Monday, where we merge prose and haiku. Today, let’s talk about this month’s full moon, the Snow Moon!

Snow Moon? Where did that name come from? Well, all twelve full moons have names. According to Time and Date, February’s full moon is known as the Snow Moon:

The Snow Moon is the Full Moon in February, named after abundant snowfall in the Northern Hemisphere.

Some North American tribes named it the Hungry Moon due to the scarce food sources and hard hunting conditions during mid-winter, while others named it Bear Moon, referring to bear cubs being born this time of year. Celtic and Old English names for the February Full Moon are Storm Moon and Ice Moon.

This year’s Snow Moon flew in under the radar, arriving at 7:30AM EST. Meanwhile, in New York’s backyard, much of the snow from the two storms the week before has melted after days of clear skies. While these circumstances can appear to make the February full moon’s arrival a bit anticlimactic, it’s still inspiring for me to see our nearest celestial neighbor in full, reflected illumination!

Other Haijin have also basked in the Moon:

Fog filled woods~

even the winter moon

has lost its way

Mary Kendell, A Poet in Time, January 6, 2015

Full Moon

Mangos. Melons. Tomatoes. Peaches. Two handfuls. Not enough, or more than enough. After losing my own mangos, small as they were, I am suddenly aware of the variety and beauty of breasts, how they bounce and snuggle together in an intimate embrace; the young ones so casually pert and innocent that they defy any effort to subdue them; the perfectly round ones that mound up into a beckoning décolletage most likely the result of a little augmentation and to my eye not nearly as interesting; the full moon globes of nursing mothers weighted with love;  grandmothers’ more like udders gently swinging telling of a life of giving and nurturing, now a soft resting place for any small body needing comfort. Breasts everywhere I look. I don’t know if I am jealous or fascinated, or both. I try not to stare, but my god! what breathtaking abundance of life! 

the weight 

of what we don’t see

till it’s not there

Peggy Hale Bilbro, Contemporary Haibun Online, December 2020

Whether micro or super, a full moon is a nocturnal delight. Today, let’s do some winter moon gazing of our own! Write your haibun alluding to the Snow Moon, any way you like.

New to haibun? The form consists of one to a few paragraphs of prose—usually written in the present tense—that evoke an experience and are often non-fictional/autobiographical. They may be preceded or followed by one or more haiku—nature-based, using a seasonal image—that complement without directly repeating what the prose stated.

New to dVerse? Here is what you do:

• Write a haibun that alludes to Snow Moon.
• Post it on your personal site/blog.
• Include a link back to dVerse in your post.
• Copy your link onto the Mr. Linky.
• Remember to click the small checkbox about data protection.
• Read and comment on some of your fellow poets’ work.
• Like and leave a comment below if you choose to do so.
• Have fun!