---
title: The moon is gone and in its place a mirror
genre: prose

id: moongone
toc: "The moon is gone and in its place a mirror"

ekphrastic:
    image: moongone.jpg
    title: The moon is gone
    link: 'http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120102.html'

project:
    title: Elegies for alternate selves
    class: elegies
    order: 18
    prev:
    - title: Ronald McDonald
      link: ronaldmcdonald
    next:
    - title: The mountain
      link: mountain
...

The moon is gone and in its place a mirror.
Looking at the night sky now yields nothing but the viewer's own face as viewed from a million miles, surrounded by the landscape he is only vaguely aware of being surrounded by.
He believes that he is [alone][], surrounded by desert and mountain, but behind him---he now sees it---someone is sneaking up on him.
He spins around fast, but no one is there on [Earth][].
He looks back up and they are yet closer in the night sky.
Again he looks over his shoulder but there is nothing, not even a desert mouse.
As he looks up again he realizes it's a cloud above him, which due to optics has looked like someone else.
The cloud blocks out the moon which is now a mirror, and the viewer is completely alone.

[alone]: apollo11.html
[Earth]: serengeti.html