Big Lift Ferry Poem F071

Told Greg and Ryan
About the word mångata –
The road to the moon

05.20.16

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Copyright by Minh Tan on listed dated of completion.

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Notes to this poem…

While on the ferry ride tonight, I started a conversation with a couple of guys about the almost full moon in the sky. I told them about the one I saw last month with a ring around it, Jupiter beside it and a shooting star that came through after I had wished for it, rather than wishing on one. It was a once in a life time image I’ll never forget, which I had captured in Big Lift Ferry Poem F56.

They thought I was either lying or stretching the truth a bit, which I can’t say I blame them. It’s not exactly easy to see a full moon with a ring around it, Jupiter beside it and shooting star through it for a moment! However, I had the poem online to prove it, with a photo of all except the shooting star. But the fact I wrote a poem about it, I mean, that’s a lot of effort for nothing if I were lying!

The guys’ names were Greg and Ryan. Or, at least, that’s what they told me cause I didn’t exactly check ID, lol. Just kidding. I believe them.

While on the topic of the moon and its beauty, I thought of the Swedish word mångata, meaning moon road, that is one of my favourite words.

I prefer my more poetic translation of road to the moon for a definition, though. Not long before talking to them, I was looking for a mångata seeing there was a moon out, and realizing there wasn’t one due to the moon being too high up in the sky. I wrote a poem about that (Big Lift Ferry Poem F70). But segueing from there, I told Greg and Ryan about the word mångata.

They loved it!

Now, if only I were famous, I could tell Greg and Ryan they’re now immortalized in verse. 🙂

The F-series poems are part of a collection composed on my ferry rides across Halifax Harbour when the buses aren’t crossing the MacDonald bridge due to the Big Lift bridge redecking. This should keep happening until at least December 2016.

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