The Waxing Cold Moon: A Collection

Written by Heather Corbally Bryant
Photographed by Sasha Snow

The Waxing Cold Moon as Seen at Little Dan Hole Pond

To Selene we pray—

On this cold crepuscular evening, we race to Little Dan Hole Pond
To see the miracle—

A remaining gas vent, an almost perfect circle sustained from the
Volcanic explosion the size of Mount Vesuvius,

Or perhaps, Mount St. Helens, the remains of our Ossipee
Ring dyke—forming an almost perfect circle,

Nine miles in diameter to it is one of the largest calderas in the world—
Standing in the basin allows you to feel you are at the

Center of the universe, for a moment at least—Little Dan Hole Pond,
At one hundred- and eighty-feet deep fills in what used to be a

Vent on the volcano’s side—topaz, tourmaline, amethyst, garnet,
Beryl, and smoke quartz—Ossipee, South Tamworth, Tuftonboro

And Moultonborough ring the old rim, blasted through the earth—
Now quiet winter, encased in ice, waiting for summers’ arrival

With the water flowing, amidst the swarms of black flies.

A Circle Around the Moon

Stepping outside on our front porch close to midnight,
I stand at the top of our hill—only to see a white

Ring circling the moon—Selene, our moon goddess within—

Drawing her magic wand to make this luminescent shape—
I learn it’s called a Lunar Halo and seeing it means that

Rain or snow will be coming soon—

The cirrostratus clouds refract the light
From tiny ice crystals suspended in our

Atmosphere—here,in this bright white night—

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, rain is
More likely—here, at the top of our small hill

It is just me and the dog, the two of us outside on
One of the first nights of the

Waxing cold Christmas moon.