Monday, February 2, 2026

Saharan Dust Moon

Tonight I saw the sand that traveled three thousand miles across the Atlantic. 

The road weary plume illuminated by the full moon 

So the beam turned from silver to gold

From milky to cafe con Latte.


The busty orb set against a grainy buff sky.

Not the clear crisp light that our full moons bring,

But an unfocused hazy glow.


The sun had set the same way.

It just looks like regular clouds, my husband said.

No it’s an unusual haze, a fuzzy blur of rays.

The way our talks have become of late.


This isn’t California, after all, where smoggy skies are the norm.

This a wind blown tropical peninsula where air pollution retreats to the Gulf

Or the seas

Amber skies are enigmatic

Saharan dust plumes a rare phenomenon 

Whose golden spray, like an ecru pair of sheers just hung

Casts a yellow diamond hue 

Over us all


                                                           Photo credit Palm Beach Post