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Blue Moon of Kentucky
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Blue Moon of Kentucky |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697
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The perfect blue of the Kentucky sky was the first thing that greeted me that morning. The sunlight poured into the house, making it seem as if the bare white walls were painted yellow. The next thing that greeted me was the thump thump of Justin’s heart beating beneath my ear. He breathed with the deep rhythm of the ones lost in slumber. We had just moved into the small house on the hillside, but the small bare house seemed like a mansion to us young newlyweds. Anyway, the yellow light of God’s sun and the breath of my lover were touches that no decorator could mimic. Justin finally got up around noon, while I was absorbing Robert Frost. It was a beautiful Saturday, and the summer sun of the Appalachians didn’t pack its usual punch, although it shone as brightly as ever. Justin got up, started some coffee, and asked, “When are we getting the cable hooked up?” Justin was from Ohio (or O-hee-o, as I liked to tease), and he wasn’t into nature as much as I was. It didn’t bother me, though. We were still adjusting to each other, and this little difference of opinion was nothing compared to the love we shared. “We’ll get the cable hooked up soon,” I said. “But there IS life without TV, believe it or not.” I showed him the poem I was reading: “Birches”. I read it to him, but his mind seemed as it were somewhere else until I reached this part: “I’d like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to it and begin over. May no fate willfully misunderstand me And half grant what I wish and snatch me away Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love: I don’t know where it’s likely to go better” “Come on hon! That made no since. Who cares if the tree was bent over by some kid or an icestorm? The only thing that made since was that one line: ‘Earth’s the right place for love’ ”. He gave me that goofy smile and I saw the twinkle in his blue eyes that told me what he was thinking. I closed the book. Even if we go at it during the day, he goes straight to sleep afterwards, I thought later that day. I love him to pieces, I thought, but we are so different! I started to have doubts. If we were so different now, what would happen in a few years? What would happen when the kids came? Were we just fooling ourselves, solving every disagreement by making love? Stop overreacting, I thought. Just because he doesn’t like poetry or nature doesn’t mean that you can’t stay together. Maybe it’s just that he’s never been exposed to it. “Birches” isn’t the easiest poem to understand, I thought, and this is the first time he’s actually been exposed to nature. He lived in Cleveland, for Christ’s sake! This is probably the first time he’s ever seen a tree that didn’t grow in a pot! My arm was getting numb, and I tried to remove it from under Justin’s head without waking him, to no avail. He opened his eyes and said, “You were right, babe. There is life without TV”. He kissed me and said, “What time is it?” I looked outside at the twilight. It was the middle of summer, so the sun sat pretty late. “About 8-ish” I guessed. “Christ, there might be life without TV, but not without watches!” he said. I got up and looked out the window. I caught a glance of my cousin’s ATV. My cousin, who lived farther down the hollow, had asked if he could store it at our house. Suddenly, I had an idea of how to expose Justin to the beauty of the Kentucky hills. “Won’t your cousin get mad if we take this thing out without him knowing?” Justin asked as I started the engine. “Nah”, I said, “he taught me how to ride these things, he’d trust me”. I had heard about a great view at the top of the hill, so I headed that way. There were a few trails, and I decided to stick to them. Don’t want to traumatize the boy by turning this thing over on his first ride, I thought. This was what I lived for, the wind flying in my face, the branches whipping around me… The thrill of driving through the mountains wasn’t very different from the trill of a young life zipping through adversity, and above it all, the blue moon of Kentucky provided just enough light to guide us on our way. After about an hour, we finally reached the top. There was a clearing, and you could look out and see the hills stretching out to touch the starry heavens, as if they longed to touch the blue moon that rose slightly above them. Justin came up from behind me, wrapped his arms around my neck, and we stood there together, staring out at that beautiful view until the moon had crept to the top of the sky. During those moments, we shared a unity that was greater than any had experienced before. Our love had finally come together perfectly, without differences or worries. We fell in love with each other all over again. For a moment, the world was beautiful and right. The world was poetry, and Justin understood it perfectly. We stuff there until we noticed that dark clouds had begun to block out the stars of the eastern sky. As we headed downhill, the rain began to fall. Gently at first, but then harder and harder until it was getting hard to navigate the muddy trails. Going downhill was always tough for me, and the rain only made it tougher. I took it as slowly as I could. I thought about waiting until the storm had passed, but that could have taken all night, and I didn’t think that Justin was ready for a night in the wilderness. So we pressed on, although the moon had ceased to shine down upon us. I should have taken that as an omen, for as I tried to take a steep downhill curve, I felt the ATV start to slide. I shifted gears and frantically tried to get it out of it, but to no avail. I grabbed Justin’s hand and jumped off of the ATV before it flipped. I must have blacked out, because when I woke up, I was face down in the mud and the storm had turned to a trickle. The moon was also lower in the sky. I rose, and I felt a sharp pain both in my arm and in my head. I moaned. I didn’t see the ATV anywhere, but I also didn’t see Justin. Oh God, where was he? I started to scream his name, but the only answer I got was the echo of the hills. He’s dead, I thought. He’s dead, and I killed him because I wanted him be something that he wasn’t! I started to cry hysterically. My love, my life was dead. There was no reason for me to live. I could just lie there until I was dead, and then I would see Justin again in Heaven. I glanced at my arm. It was broken, with the bone poking out and blood pouring from it. Must have cut an artery, I thought. It won’t be long. I closed my eyes and waited for Death to come. Suddenly, I felt a hand caress my face. Death is so kind, I thought. Why are people so afraid of him? His touch is merciful, not tormenting! I opened my eyes to see what he looked like, only to see Justin. My heart jumped for joy. “Justin!” I cried, “You’re alive! And not a scratch on you, babe! Can’t say the same for me, though. You look different somehow. Oh gosh, you don’t have a bit of mud on you. That’s why. You must have gone and changed clothes somewhere, although those ARE the same clothes you were wearing today… gosh Justin, I must be delirious. I’m losing a lot of blood, you see.” Throughout my babbling, Justin only stood silently, with that goofy smile and that twinkle in his eye, only this time I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. He reached out his hand. “Good Lord! I don’t think I can stand. Can you carry me?” He shook his head “Come on babe! I’m really weak, and I know you can carry me. You carried me over the threshold on our wedding night. That wasn’t so long ago…” He shook his head again, and extended his hand. “Alright, I’ll try” With a lot of trouble and pain, I struggled to my feet and reached for Justin’s hand. He took a step back, though. I took a step forward, and he took a step back, and never let me touch his hand. “What kind of game are you trying to play? I’m losing a lot of blood, I could die soon. Do you want me to die?” He shook his head, and beckoned me again. “Oh, do you want me to follow you somewhere?” He nodded. “Alright, I’ll try, but I still can’t figure out why you won’t carry me, or why you won’t talk to me!” I followed him for a long time through the woods. As time passed, it got harder and harder for me to keep up. I also started to wonder why Justin seemed so sure of where he was going. We were in the middle of nowhere, and this city boy didn’t know anything about the woods! I kept following him though, and we came to a small clearing with a small log cabin sitting there. “Justin, where are we?” I asked. He took his hand and motioned towards the house, and gave me his signature grin. I looked into his blue eyes, and I realized what had happened. “Oh Justin, you know I can’t live without you!” I cried. I crawled over to him and flung my good arm around his knees, but my arm went right through him. “Baby, take me with you” I cried, over and over again, lamenting. “Take me with you, take me with you…” He bent down and caressed my hair. Then he whispered: “Earth’s the right place for love” Then he bent over and kissed me on the lips. Although he was so cold, it was as if his touch gave me the strength I needed to go on, as it always had. Then he disappeared forever. I lay there, weeping for a moment, thinking about everything he had said, about everything we had done. My thoughts went to those hours we stood on top of that hill, looking out at the world with one set of eyes, one mind, one heart. I thought about what our lived would have been like if we had never gone out there. We could have had years and years together, true… but he would have never understood the poetry that the world is… we would have never felt the blue moon of Kentucky. I glanced up at the sky. The moon was sinking below the hills, and the eastern sky was turning pink. My head was reeling, and I felt like I was about to die. Then I remembered what Justin told me… Earth is the right place for love. I rose and began to yell, “Help! I need help!” Two old-timers, a husband and wife, rushed out to my aid. As they helped me inside, the old lady said, “It’s gonna be ok, girl. You’re going to be alright”. Yes, I thought. I’m going to be alright. And who knows? Perhaps Justin was just getting away from the earth for awhile. Maybe he’ll come back and begin again. As I laid on that old wooden bed, I closed my eyes and started to talk to Justin. "I’ll always be waiting, baby." I said to him. As the old man was on the phone with the paramedics, the old lady sat by my side and said "Don't you go to sleep, now". Then she started to hum an old tune my grandfather liked to sing, a tune that I hadn't really thought much of until that moment.. "Blue moon of Kentucky, keep on shinin' Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue..." I smiled... and even now, whenever I see that moon shining on the tops of the trees at night, I can't help but smile.  "Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel."-Machiavelli [This message has been edited by LoveBug (edited 04-09-2001).] |
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| © Copyright 2001 Erica N. - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
You didn't say you wanted critique (but I told you on ICQ about the 'going at it') I like this..but you should have a happy ending..this makes me cry!  |
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Wesley the Blue Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 426Forest Lake, MN, USA |
A very sad tale indeed. Well writen too. The imagry gives a distinct picture while leaving plenty for the readers imagination to have a field day with. Wonderfully done. Keith every day is a new day with which we can change the world |
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Allan Riverwood
since 2001-01-04
Posts 3502Winnipeg |
Let me start by saying this is a fabulous story... quite sad, I was actually pretty surprised at the end when it turned out he wasn't alive and well after all. I also liked the idea of two people who were in love, despite their differences. It was nice. You did a great job on this one, Erica.  Ok I know I'm not much of a prose writer... I have critiques that I noticed as a reader though.  When you said that your "hand went right through him," it kind of ruined the mysterious feel to it. Like it was a bit too much confirmation on what had happened... I'd have thought he'd simply step back to avoid her again as he'd done with his hand. Also she seemed a bit too natural (even if she was ranting) when she found he was really alive, in her "Justin, you're alive!" speech. That's it... and bear in mind I'm not experienced at prose writing so I really can't be given too much credit on this one.  Awaiting your next heartbreaker... ~Allan Love is like the wind; it can suddenly blow softly in your face or it can come strong. ~~Aaron (Low Man's Lyric) [This message has been edited by Allan Riverwood (edited 04-11-2001).] |
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