There’s moonglow and there’s moonlight, I think. The moonglow gives everything a delightful sheen. The sparkling sky speaks awe and wonder to the star-gazer. The milky pavement is smooth and welcoming for the midnight rambler. The shining river is an intoxicating mirror of brilliance and joy for the satisfied dreamer. Moonglow enhances every outfit with a glowing flourish for the excited sensationalist. Everything is safe and pleasant. There is confidence that problems will fade away and the soul stops stirring to rest in a peaceful smile.
In the moonlight, we can look at the stars for hours on end contemplating their infinite layers. The immense sky extends beyond depth and contains unknowable forces with imperceptible powers, revealing the world to be small and inconsequential. The trees stand as imposing shadows under the moonlight but each leaf and twig is starkly visible, flailing about restlessly. The roofs above the glowing windows are dark and flat but you can see every shingle and every flap and crack among them. The water is smooth and black but every ripple flashes, sharply distorting the peaceful reflection of the lights above. The road does not glisten but every pebble and shifted brick is menacingly in view. Your shoes aren’t lustrous but you can see every pinhole in the thin mesh or threatening crease in the fake leather. Your pants aren’t particularly illuminated but the wrinkles are somehow more present than ever. Your shirt is not glowing but you can see every threaded stitch hanging precariously together. Your hair doesn’t shine, but every string and snarl of it is severely defined. Your hands aren’t smooth, every flake and line is evident in the moonlight. Your nails have no luster, every chip of the polish and overgrown cuticle exasperatingly flaunts its presence. The cold moonlight is like a negated shadow and things that you might hide from the sun or evade notice of; a gentle moonglow surface to unrelenting reality. Even your thoughts become stark and sober, leaving you in a moonlit reverie.
In the sunlight, we can see the sky with its large puffy clouds as a soft blue canopy to protect us from insecure knowledge of the vastness of the universe. The roofs of every building look black and shiny, firm and impenetrable. The water reflects the light so brilliantly it’s like looking at the sun itself; we are blinded from its drowning depths. Our outfits are flawless because we got up in the morning and dressed for the sun. The brilliance of this induces our laughter and we can move through each moment while thinking hopefully of the next. Sunlight illuminates the world and everything in it so plainly we must choose what we want to look at because we can’t see it all. That’s why sometimes we need the moonlight to show us the details we don’t want to see.