The Illusion of Moonlight

The Illusion of Moonlight

(Where You First Appeared)

There you were —

not in the sky,

but in the lake.

A face like moonlight,

softly painted on stillness.

I saw you shimmer

where ripples barely breathed —

your image, so quiet,

so impossibly perfect,

I almost didn’t believe it was real.

Was it the moon…

or were you the illusion

that made the moon jealous?

My eyes tried to reason —

but my heart,

my foolish heart,

believed at once:

It’s you.

Not your reflection.

Not a shadow.

You.

There was magic in how the water held you —

tenderly, reverently,

as if even nature knew

you are not of this world.

And I…

I forgot what I was,

forgot where I stood,

forgot the stars.

Because in that one moment —

beneath the hush of sky and breath —

I saw you,

and everything else

became just background.

---

Since that night,

no lake has reflected anything

but you.