By Melanie Dunbar
Dear Grandpa,
You know by now I took the train. The smoke in my room was really steam and the train was a locomotive. I borrowed the mantle clock your father carried from the old country. I think it will be useful here, because the sun doesn’t completely rise or set and the moon is always nearly full and day is always nearly night, and so on.
You know how back home the days have day names and the moon is named each month? Here, there are no days of the week. Every day the Moon has a different name–Mango, Ginger, Bronze. Baluster Moon, Face Moon, Sconce. Moon of Rejection. Muck Moon, Loam. Castings Moon, Mill Moon, Eighteen Moon and Pence.
Turbulence Moon. Paisley, Pouch and Nut.
When I smelled the smoke — no steam, I boarded. I didn’t want to be left behind like my brother who ended up floating in the sky. Smoke Moon. Ash. Moon Before I Was Born.
Here, the watches have white faces and are numbered 1 through 24. Time passes slowly. I am doing my best to memorize the Moons.
Alt Moon.
Gin Moon.
Fountain, Flat and Swale.
