MOON HISTORY - Anastasia Suen

Writing a Small Poem

What is the story? After I saw the “two words” line in Linda Mitchell’s Clunker Exchange, I knew I had to use them for Irene Latham’s “Moon in June” challenge.

My first published picture book was Man on the Moon, an Apollo 11 story, and the 1997 cover (below) shows Neil Armstrong’s boot touching the moon. I wrote a short MOON HISTORY poem (with 2 words on each line) and then went looking for a NASA photo like the book cover.

The NASA photo one I found, however, had a different story than the poem I had written. The caption for this photo said: “One of the first steps taken on the Moon, this is an image of Buzz Aldrin’s bootprint from the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon on July 20, 1969.”

I loved the picture so much, I wrote a new poem! That’s my “two words” (for Linda) / “Moon in June” (for Irene) poem — and my fifth (and final) June #smallpoem.

Now it’s your turn! What is your MOON HISTORY story?

11 Comments

Susan Thomsen Posted on5:45 pm - June 29, 2023

Short and sweet. I’ll have to try two-word lines. That’s a good challenge. I like yours! And I remember those moon landings way back when.

Buffy Silverman Posted on7:31 pm - June 29, 2023

I like the brevity of your two word lines!

Irene Latham Posted on7:40 pm - June 29, 2023

Wow, way to weave all three challenges into one! The 2 word lines don’t leave much wiggle room, but you did it! (Quite appropriate for a moon astronaut poem, I think, as they didn’t have much wiggle room either!) Brava! Thank you so much for playing along. I’ve added your book to my roundup of related reads, too! xo

Linda Baie Posted on5:42 am - June 30, 2023

I’ll look for your book, Anastasia, did not know about it! Your ‘two words’ from Linda worked very well! I’m still in awe that they were there!

Karen Finch Posted on8:21 am - June 30, 2023

Thank you for sharing this, Anastasia! I love the directness of the two words per line format. And taking us back to your first book which just so happens to coincide with the moon, July, my old age 😉 is really fun. It brought to mind an old charm bracelet I have with a charm commemorating July 20th, 1969. I’ll add a couple of pictures of it to my (gulp, first ever) blog post. This was a treat to read and remember.

Laura Purdie Salas Posted on10:13 am - June 30, 2023

Woohoo–meeting several challenges in one short poem. Way to go, Anastasia!

Mary Lee Posted on1:53 pm - June 30, 2023

Love it — “first step / second man” really made me think! (Thanks for the backstory to confirm my suspicion.)

Carol Varsalona Posted on5:36 am - July 1, 2023

Anastasia, I enjoyed your June small poem challenge and this one is timeless. You allowed me to look back on that mementous day in 1969 with the eye of a poet.
Here is a small poem quick write for the end of June with my friend the Moon
Moon Glow

moon flickers
its goodby
nighttime sleeps

Rose Cappelli Posted on11:30 am - July 1, 2023

Thanks for bringing back a memory from that time! And what a time it was.

PATRICIA J FRANZ Posted on8:58 pm - July 2, 2023

I met the man
who left his prints
on our circling satellite.

He shook my hand,
told me “Good job!”
on my 6th grade science project.

Michelle Kogan Posted on2:14 pm - July 5, 2023

Wonderful Anastasia, much packed into that short poem, and I’m looking forward to reading your “Man on the Moon” book, thanks!