Clare Josa's Books Archives

Today sees the Harvest Full Moon. It’s a potent one this year, calling us to let go of the past and make our peace with change. So I have two pieces of (hopefully!) inspiration for you, to help you explore your relationship with the full moon. There will be more next week on handling change.

If you enjoy these poems, please share this article with your friends and loved-ones. And you might enjoy my new novel – You Take Yourself With You – which is being published very soon. There’s a form for you to register to get the pre-launch bonuses, further down this page.

x Clare

Harvest Full Moon

I can’t sleep.

The lights are on.

Grumpily I tear my sleep-hungry body from the warmth of the duvet to turn the lights off,

Silently scolding whoever forgot.

But the light is outside,

Announcing itself through cracks in the curtains

Like a Town Crier

Belly bursting out of his bright red coat,

Filling the market square with his message, demanding attention

My bare feet flinch at the cold of the floor

And I slip between the curtains

Heavy and smooth in my hands

Not wanting the light

To wake my husband’s gentle breath

Colour-stripping light caresses

Every blade of grass

Each autumn leaf, drained of its orange vibrance, clinging to the old oak

The broken tiles on the roof of the barn. I won’t let them nag me.

The clouds glow

As though painted

In a thousand shades of silver

By a million tiny brushes

Just for me.

The moon looks down

And enjoys her Kingdom

Drinking in the canvas she has created.

She commands me to howl

Willing me

To express the wonder she inspires

I refuse

Denying my instincts

My family sleeps

And instead I agree

To shed a silent tear of awe

And gratitude

Knowing that I, alone, on this planet of billions

Have been given the gift of this scene tonight

and in a few short hours it will vanish forever

Chased away

By dawn’s fiery fingers.

I Am The Full Moon

I command you to howl!

I’ve been up all night

creating this canvas

for you to sleep through

I command you to howl!

Do you think

it’s for my own benefit

that I painstakingly lick every blade of grass

with shimmering light?

I command you to howl!

Do you appreciate

how many turgid meetings

I have had to endure with Dew,

to agree how we can best work together

to inspire and delight you?

I command you to howl!

I, singled handed,

control the tides

that rise and fall

at the whim of my orbit.

I command you to howl!

I keep your darkest secrets

I light your darkest journeys

I bring hope to your darkest hour

I command you to howl!

Like a lunatic in the asylum,

driven mad by the need

to pay me my dues.

I command you to howl!

Just one night a month

to express your true nature

to abandon the need to control.

I command you to howl!

I love you so dearly,

so softly,

so silently.

I am waiting for you tonight.

I hope you enjoyed these.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on your relationship with this Harvest Full Moon. You can let me know, via the comments.

x Clare

P.S. Could I tempt you to pre-order my new novel, which is currently with the editor? You can find out more here: www.ClareJosa.com/youtakeyourselfwithyou/ Thank you! Clare x

This week, to celebrate the ‘freedom’ theme of World Poetry Day, I’m sharing with you musings on the theme of ‘what is freedom’? It’s a piece of free-writing / poetry that may or may not end up in one of my novels.

So you get to see it first! I hope you enjoy it. And I’d love to hear from you, via the comments, on what ‘freedom’ means to you.

x Clare

What Is Freedom?

Unbuyable.
A choice we so often forget we have.
We confuse it with running away;
with hiding from our ‘have tos’;
with letting loved ones down.

But that isn’t freedom.

Freedom is about choosing
how much to enjoy life.
Do you want to drag your past around with you
like a Victorian coalminer
and his heavy, rusty old bucket?
Blackened?
Dusty?
Dark?
Cramped?
Bent double under the load?

Or will you let go of the chains
and soar through the cloudless blue sky
like a condor
catching thermals in the Andes?

Will you sing until your throat hurts,
like a child on an old wooden swing,
with its painted red seat,
that invites you to fly
and lose yourself
in its breathtaking view of the valley?

Freedom is like a gentle breeze,
tickling the leaves of the wise old oak tree,
reminding it how to laugh.

I hope you enjoyed the. I’d love to hear from you, via the comments, on what ‘freedom’ means to you. What has your relationship been with ‘freedom’, over the years? What is freedom for you?

x Clare

P.S. Could I tempt you to pre-order my new novel, which is currently with the editor and will be ready for you in early December? People who have the faith in me to order in advance help to hold me accountable, keeping me going, even if I’m secretly scared. Thank you! www.ClareJosa.com/youtakeyourselfwithyou/