Harvest Moon 2016

The moon, like a flower in heaven's bower, with silent delight sits and smiles on the night.             

                                                           from William Blake's poem, Night

The full Harvest Moon casts its shadow across the planet tonight. As the moon emerges from the sea, coastal residents can experience the sublime event precisely as it has been viewed by humans for thousands of years. It is no wonder a star-filled dome over land's end and the timeless sound of surf capture and command our consciousness so easily. Add a moon rise and all reason flees.

A Georgia Sea Island moon rise over McQueens Island, east of Savannah, ca 1950

Neil Young, still going strong after fifty years of fine composition and performance, captures the mood perfectly.

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

National Park Service, Fort Pulaski National Monument handbook

Text:

quotation, William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience, originally published in 1789.