Moonbeam Ridge

inspired by Robert ("bad bunny") . . .

Loftiest apex in the Santa Cruz summits
ancient one snapped a hundred acres cheap
graced her primitive post Moonbeam Ridge
and camped in remote wilds for thirty years.

Luna steadily hammered hodge-podge corrals
for breeding twenty-some horses and llamas
but a tempestuous filly, sans shelter was she.

Of six sisters only a few were never tamed.
Sis and I bumped and clattered a rustic way
up to Moonbeam for Luna’s sacred celebrations
a refreshing version of UN-Hallmark holidays
drumming under plump Grandmother Moon
food roasting all day over coals underground.

The party pops as darkness descends
a muffled indigo horizon is backlit by
smoldering suggestion of moonbeams.
Far below the sprawling city is frothy,
gradually growing, a peppered pink glow.

Dew drop galaxies with sparkling cobwebs
shimmering strands of tinsel span the bay
pin pricks fizzle to pencil a blackberry shore
far below the Bay Bridge twinkles a mere hint
as San Francisco Peninsula surges into night.

Distant coyotes howl to encourage the moon:
illuminate our skittering rodent hors d'oeuvres!
Horses huff and hooves scuff the crunchy loam
while clucking llamas resemble amplified quail.

Gazing the brisk star spray of a country night
sometimes when I close my eyes so tight
I catch the twinkling of Luna’s dew drop galaxies
from our long-ago perch up on Moonbeam Ridge.

Author's Note

I lifted the phrase "dew drop galaxies" from Robert Trakofler's poem
"Inductive Reason" (oooops! no plagiarism rants please!)
https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/Flaccidbunny/2124342/

Reviews

[Robert Trakofler (Bad B..]

If the result of plagiarism is this I would be glad to send you a copy of everything I have ever written! Vivid is the spectrum of your palate you draw with words so lovely. Your ink daubs emotion so sincere in the images you pen. To say that I am flattered that anything i could scrawl could evoke this sort of response is well we haven't created a word to give justice my gratitude I treasure this

[barleygirl]

During the "honeymoon period" (when we are so pleased with something we've just penned), I kept coming back to that great phrase you penned! I slept with all my doors & windows wide open (60* this morning) & it felt like I was sleeping outdoors, so I pretended I was camping out above the dew drop galaxies! *smile* Thanks for the inspiration! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[gram linski]

the language fairly zings along at a gallop, with some great turns of phrase, you paint a vivid picture, Margie,

[Jibey]

This beautifully captures those personal memories, bringing the alive in a brisk and brightly imaginative illumination of the rich tapestry of life's experience. You are the master/mistress of colorful detail, a painter with a sharp and sympathetic perception of what lives vividly in the mind's eye. Happy memories, so good to share.

[barleygirl]

Thank you for your kind words and I'll just say that I've been lucky in life becuz I was bored by all the traditional junk, so I did many fun & "out there" things that I yet have to write about! Now I'm disabled, which forces me to finally get to the writing part of this great life! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[LE Berry]

Written like it was photographed or painted...your wonderfully realized descriptive had me right there barelygirl.

[barleygirl]

I wrote a short story about this a couple years ago & completely forgot to include the sight of the city lights, which was like a centerpiece to every celebration on the mountain! As the years go by at the cafe, I've learned to "see" such sights much better! Thanks for stopping by (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

A great blending of two astral souls is gloriously evidenced here- Margie and Bad Bunny! And What better title and subject than Moonbeam Ridge. Sisterfriend your life has been so rich and wild and free- I love to read your autobiographical works and imagine I walked in your shoes. Your imagery, alliteration and aerial photo evoke a magical-mystical fairyland of multicolored lights in endless “dew drop galaxies” (thanks B.B.!). Horse’s hoofs raise thunder while llamas “cluck” along! The landmarks, the legends, the ‘bigger-than-life’ of it all! And to think it was-and is- all real...Faaaaaar Ooouuut my kaleidoscopically inclined friends. A lunar Huzzah to you both!

[barleygirl]

I love what you're saying about combining the magic of Robert & me in writing. He is very good at thinking outside the dots. In fact, I have a great photo I want to write about, but I need to consult Robert's wild crazy side to see if he can give me an outlandish idea or two how to approach this. Until I wrote this poem, I'd forgotten how the lights of the city would be like our version of holiday lights, a display that glowed all night long as we slept in the dirt in sleeping bags. I was blessed to be bored by the traditional ways of doing things! Thanks again for a great review! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Dynamic Duo- Yay!! Xo

[Coyote Poetry]

A beautiful photo and a wonderful story told in the poetry. I loved highway one from Big Sur to San Francisco. I spend many a weekend roaming Santa Cruz. Your description made me wish for a visit to the sea and to roam highway one again. Thank you Margie for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[barleygirl]

Even tho there are many things to bemoan about how life goes, I am content to just remember the awesome people & places along my journey! Sure, there was a lot of s**t, too. But that goes with living. Thanks for understanding (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Eilis]

When I was here yesterday morning I was surprised by how few reviews this had yet. I guess it must have been early in your posting it...I was sure this would get a lot of attention.

Beautiful work, Margie. I love the way this has the personal interwoven with the collective. At least that's how it seems to me. The Luna of Moonbeam Ridge and all that she must have meant to you guys. At times I was seeing her as the moon itself. A great symbol of female power and independence held up before girls who were seeking for a less conventional path in life. It's inspiring.

But beyond that, I just really enjoy the language and the dynamic of the scene. The way nature itself is a character. It's a dazzling poem. And, perhaps, all the better because it was inspired by the work of another poet here. Always fun when our creativity is sparked by others.

Great work!

[barleygirl]

This is a beautifully-written review! Love it! Thanks for giving your impressions so precisely & intensely! As for the delayed-reaction . . . I am old & many of my friends here at the cafe are in the autumn of life, so we don't jump around as friskily as the kids do, ready to pounce on anything that's posted. Many have a routine of going online for a certain stretch of time each day. Maybe that's it. I move slowly myself, so I don't feel surprised that those I know best are also just cruisin' along in a smooth groove! *wink! wink!* Fondly, Margie

[Eilis]

You’re welcome, Margie! My comment on comments was in no way meant as a criticism if it came over that way. I’m pretty slow myself. Take care

[barleygirl]

Did not take any critical slant on anything you said. I'm just responding to others who seem to be overly concerned with how their stuff is received here at the cafe, good or bad. Always want to encourage writers to write from a personal passion, not to "get readers" . . .

[Eilis]

Great point, I didn't think of that. I suppose if the act of writing isn't satisfying by itself things can get a little too involved on the sharing side.

[Lorry]

And below that ridge, a collection of broken limbs, of those who tried to tame her. That's not wolves howling Margie, it all those broken souls screaming their regrets 😀
And now that I have cheered up your Monday morning, I shall take my leave, so many people to cheer up, so little time. 😀

[barleygirl]

You are amazingly close to truth telling! There are many broken hearts piled up where I romped along with no heart to even recognize the hearts I was breaking! But that's a whole 'nother thing! Thanks for stopping by! Love seeing you around & reading your comments on everyone's stuff (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Lorry]

Aw, thanks. A few of you seem to have grown quite a resistance to my strain of weird. I must try harder.
Feck it, I'm posting something weird. BRB 🤓

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Margie... I ran with Llamas in an open field in Delaware on my
maternal Grandmother's land. A very creative entrepreneur bought some acreage
from our estate, and he brought in a huge Red Barn where he housed a Quarterback
Horse and goats as well as raising Emu's which the female goats nursed. It was exciting
to run with the eight Llamas. They totally ignored me. This was almost thirty years ago.
Now my sore knee would not allow me to enjoy the "Run" at this point in time. However,
I can appreciate how you enjoyed living on the wild side of the mountain. Love the twinkling of Luna's
dew drop galaxies. p.s. By the way, Al, the entrepreneur took me for a ride on his quarter back horse through the woods on my grandmother's estate. I never fell off and was safely brought down to earth.
truly, Pat

[barleygirl]

I can't believe this share! Great share! And also, my sister had goats! But no emus! I was just reading a book with emus! SO many connections every time we share! I was lucky, living in the country, to have an older neighbor with a horse who took me out every time she went riding. Her horse would buck violently for the first few minutes, then settle down & accept his fate. I never fell off either (I was about 12 to 14) Thanks for your fun shares (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Dave]

Margie - you never cease to amaze and delight me with the panorama you portray in your writing. I know you are very much enamored with the moon and to have it as the primary backdrop for this piece makes it all the more real.

Take care - Dave

[barleygirl]

Thanks for all that! Since I looked upon traditional family life as boring, I was always out on my next adventure. That's why I've got lots to write about now that I'm tethered (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Christine Anne Shaw]

So descriptive, so colourful and so Margie. Great that Bad Bunny was able to inspire this. Moonbeam Ridge, love that name and where moonlight is concerned anything magical can happen. Plump Grandmother moon, has me smiling. Great imagery of all those creatures, particularly Coyote howling at the moon. So good to read a Margie treat.

Chris

[barleygirl]

Since I'm a moonchild (zodiac sign), I hustled up many full moon celebrations over the years. It's really fun to remember & paint the scene (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie