Queen of Night
by Terry Webb Harshman (Roots)
The Poem :
"I am the moon, Queen of Night,
riddle wrapped in borrowed light,
a silver spool where dreams unwind,
ancient orb as old as time,
I masquerade; I wax and wane...
forever changing yet the same;
I stir the tides with unseen hands;
they ebb and flow from sea to sand.
Father Sun may keep the day;
I ride along the Milky Way...
holding court with owls and bats,
moles and voles and backstreet cats.
Within my tent, the weary rest;
puppies doze and sparrows nest.
Children dream beneath my light...
I am the moon, Queen of Night.
Summary of the Poem : The moon is both beautiful and mysterious. This poem is written from the perspective of the moon as it observes its effects on the earth. At the beginning of the poem, the moon proclaims herself as the queen of the night. She is a mysterious thing muffled up in the borrowed light of the sun. She is a silver reel where dreams unwind. She is an ancient ball which is very old to count.
In the second stanza, the moon says that she pretends to be somebody else by changing its shape at the time of waxing and waning. Still it remains the same thing forever. She attracts the water of the earth by its gravitational force and makes the tide flow from the sea to sand.
In the next stanza, the moon addresses the sun as her father and narrates that he keeps the day full with his light. The moon rises along the horizon once the sun sets. She rides along the Milky Way with nocturnal animals like owls, bats, moles, voles and backstreet cats.
In the final stanza, the moon says about her fanciful side in the night. The tired animal kingdom sleep and take rest in their nest. Children dream about their fantasy beneath the silver light of the moon. The moon ends up the poem by reminding us the fact again that she is the queen of the night.
Comprehension
1. In the poem, the moon refers to itself as a 'riddle wrapped in borrowed light'. What is the significance of the term
a. riddle?
= Here riddle means something mysterious. Since ancient times, the moon is a mystery to the people of the earth. We are mesmerised by the silver light of the moon. We are happy for the moon making the tides move. The moon is the reason for many poems written on earth.
b. borrowed light?
= We all know that the moon is the satellite of the earth. It has no light of its own. The light of the sun falls on the moon and reflects to our eyes. In a poetic way, here it is said that the moon has borrowed light from the sun.
2. Which figure of speech has been used in the line
a. 'ancient orb as old as time'?
= Simile;
b. 'I stir the tides with unseen hands'?
= Personification;
3. Identify two lines form the poem which talk about scientific phenomena involving the moon.
= Two lines from the poem which talk about scientific phenomena involving the moon are -
i) 'riddle wrapped in borrowed light,'
ii) 'I stir the tides with unseen hands;'
4. To 'hold court' means to be the centre of attention amidst a crowd of one's admirers. What does it mean for the moon to hold court with owl, bats, moles, voles and backstreet cats?
= The moon rises along the horizon once the sun sets. She rides along the Milky Way with nocturnal animals like owls, bats, moles, voles and backstreet cats. The nocturnal animals play and catch prey in the silver light of the moon. The moon is the common factor in their night life.
5. What is the tone of the poem in the last stanza?
a. peaceful. [✓]
b. humorous. [ ]
c. sad. [ ]