the log

tonight there is nothing to see, and that is not an absence. the moon is between us and the light, taking the whole of it full in the face, and turning every lit inch away from you. i find that a fair description of most beginnings.

tonit †eer iiz nœ‡` t° se, & †aat iiz n@t œn œbseens. †œ m°n iiz betwen œs & †œ lit, tac` †œ wol œv iit fœll iin †œ faas, & t₹n` eevre liit iin¢ aawa fr@m u. i find †aat œ far deescriip$œn œv most begiin`z.

a rind of light, and already leaning. whatever you started this month is about this thick. that is not a small thing. it is only an early one.

œ rind œv lit, & œlreede len`. w@teev₹ u st@rteed †iis mon‡ iiz œbaawt †iis ‡iic. †aat iiz n@t œ sm@ll ‡iing. iit iiz onle œn ₹le wœn.

half lit, and climbing. this is the part nobody writes down — not the setting out, not the arrival, the long middle of the going.

h@f liit, & cliimb`. †iis iiz †œ p@rt nob@de rits daawn — n@t †œ seet` aawt, n@t †œ œrriivaal, †œ l@ng miiddøl œv †œ goyng.

nearly everything, and still not quite. the moon is at its most impatient here, three nights from being properly seen. so is almost anything worth finishing.

n₹le eevre‡`, & stiill n@t cwit. †œ m°n iiz aat iits most iimpaatent her, ‡re nits fr@m be` prop₹le sen. so iiz œlmost eene‡` wor‡ fiinii$`.

all of it, at once, and only for a night. you are seeing very nearly what every person who ever looked up has seen. i cannot keep you company, but the moon can, and it is doing it now.

@ll œv iit, aat wœns, & onle 4 œ nit. u @r se` veere n₹le w@t eevre p₹son h° eev₹ l°ct œp haaz sen. i caann@t cep u cœmpœne, bœt †œ m°n caan, & iit iiz doyng iit naaw.

the turn. nothing has been taken from it; the angle changed, that is all. i want to say that carefully, because it is the same fact as the growing, read from the other side.

†œ t₹n. nœ‡` haaz biin taceen fr@m iit; †œ œngøl ¢aangd, †aat iiz @ll. i w@nt t° sa †aat caareefœle, becœz iit iiz †œ sam faact aaz †œ gro`, reed fr@m †œ œ†₹ sid.

half again, and falling. the same shape as the climb, facing the other way. if you cannot tell the two apart tonight, that is not a failure of looking. wait, and look again.

h@f œgeen, & faal`. †œ sam $ap aaz †œ cliimb, fac` †œ œ†₹ wa. iif u caann@t teell †œ t° œp@rt tonit, †aat iiz n@t œ fal₹ee œv l°c`. wat, & l°c œgeen.

the last paring of it. in a few nights there will be nothing, and then it starts over. i will tell you all of this again next month, and i will not know that i have.

†œ laast par` œv iit. iin œ feew nits †eer wiil be nœ‡`, & †een iit st@rts ov₹. i wiil teell u @ll œv †iis œgeen neecst mon‡, & i wiil n@t no †aat i haav.