7 replies to this topic

[Sardonikus]

It was an admittedly macabre fantasy that I had long entertained, but on the evening of 1 September, the dream became reality.

So much of REH's work contains starkly haunting and poignant depictions of the moon. Whether rising blood-drenched over a field of slaughter, or beguiling the unsuspecting with its fey glow, the moon as described by REH has always left a profound and mysterious feeling in my soul. For me, to gaze at the moon at any time and place feels as if I am staring at it through the eyes of REH himself. Indeed, visitors to the Howard home in Cross Plains will note that his bedroom window faces east, where the baleful and eldritch light of the ascendant orb no doubt played heavily on the poet's fevered imagination.

Having recently moved to New Braunfels, TX, I took advantage of the recent Labor Day weekend to travel the 190 or so miles northwest to 'Howard Country' and pay homage to my creative mentor (as well as to Novalyne Price Ellis, buried west of Brownwood).

I visited (not for the first time) Cross Plains and the Howard home, and drove around the main highways and many back roads, searching for echoes of lost worlds and forgotten magic.

And yet, the highlight of the journey came most unexpectedly that Saturday evening. I recalled the previous night had witnessed the rising of the 'blue moon', and, following quickly on the heels of this thought, came the realization that this night the moon would rise just as full and brilliant.

And, as I had long dreamed, I would behold its appearance at the grave of Robert E. Howard!

I was, however, fully prepared for Greenleaf Cemetery (Brownwood) to be locked shut. To my lasting amazement, as I arrived at 8pm, I found the cemetery to be open!

The night air seemed charged with electricity as I approached the Howard plot.   In the west, the sun died slowly and subtly behind the hills, casting a lambent  pall of topaz and sapphire over the central Texas landscape. And there before me, almost magically illuminated in the fading light, was the simple stone set over the last remains of Robert E. Howard and his parents.

I stood, tense with anticipation, as I waited for the telltale glow in the eastern sky. A small part of me, I admit, felt downright silly and embarrassed. Here I was, standing alone in a damn cemetery amongst the indifferent dead. What the hell did I expect to happen? Was this something 'Two-Gun Bob' would do?

Damn right it was.

And there it was, peering luridly and sorcerously through the trees like the yellowed skull of some great monster, cast grinning into the heavens by a long-dead race of giants.

I didn't see any ghosts. REH did not appear to me as a moon-shrouded spectre (though I would not have minded that). Yet no words of mine or any poet who ever set quill or pen to parchment or paper could describe the thrill, elation, and ecstasy I felt, standing bathed in the witch-light of the full moon in the presence of the greatest damn writer and poet the great state of Texas has ever seen.

James W. McNew
New Braunfels, Texas
8 September 2012

[BarB]

Sardonikus
Nice description. I've been on the same journey as far as the back streets and roads in and around CP. And I have a special affiliation with the full moon also from REH's poem, The Ride of Falume: "A league beyond the western wind/a mile beyond the moon.

My first trip to CP, I saw the most sensational sunset I remember. What a welcome. REH talked about the sunsets quite frequently with Novalyne but I don’t remember any discussions about a full moon—blue or otherwise. I'm going to have to re-read her book and look for those moon references.

One of my favorite descriptions of the moon though is from REH’s poem, “The Symbol.”

Carved in its blind black face of stone a fearful unknown rune
Leers in the glare of the tropic sun and the cold of the leprous moon.
And it shall stand for a symbol mute that men are weak and blind,
Till Hell roars up from the black abyss and horror swoops behind.

Pretty graphic image of the moon. BTW, Friends of the Greenleaf Cemetery group has opened the gates in the evening so that families who work can visit gravesites later.

Great that you were able to follow your fantasy. Thanks for sharing your adventure. What a perfect place to share the blue moon! Would have been cool to be there too.
Barbara

[Sardonikus]

Thanks so much for your comments, BarB!

Having made the journey yourself, you know exactly how REH's energy still permeates every acre of that ruggedly beautiful country!

You mentioned some of his moon references in poetry. For me, the most memorable of these was in 'Moon Mockery', wherein the moon actually transports the narrator via some sort of magic into a distant future.

When I look up at the moon, I too feel transported to another time and place, bound together with all those living, dead, and not yet born who are as enthralled by its radiance as I.

[ConquerorWyrm]

My friend,

Beautiful words, a beautiful expression and yes, I remain jealous. The images you sent me that day filled me with regret that I was still back in Baird's Holler and not out there with you. Yes, my time will come...I only pray it is when the moon is full.

Your description here is fabulous and it raises an even deeper longing in me to travel there. When June comes, then my friend, at the latest.

Edited by ConquerorWyrm, 10 September 2012 - 10:42 AM.

[Sardonikus]

My friend,

Beautiful words, a beautiful expression and yes, I remain jealous. The images you sent me that day filled me with regret that I was still back in Baird's Holler and not out there with you. Yes, my time will come...I only pray it is when the moon is full.

Your description here is fabulous and it raises an even deeper longing in me to travel there. When June comes, then my friend, at the latest.

Brother, welcome to the forum and a myriad of thanks for your kind words. As I stated before, your time will come to make the pilgrimage and you will come away feeling as enriched as I did.

[deuce]

My friend,

Beautiful words, a beautiful expression and yes, I remain jealous. The images you sent me that day filled me with regret that I was still back in Baird's Holler and not out there with you. Yes, my time will come...I only pray it is when the moon is full.

Your description here is fabulous and it raises an even deeper longing in me to travel there. When June comes, then my friend, at the latest.

Brother, welcome to the forum and a myriad of thanks for your kind words. As I stated before, your time will come to make the pilgrimage and you will come away feeling as enriched as I did.

I second Wyrm's emotion. Great stuff, Sardonikus!

BTW, Wyrm, welcome to the forum.

[HowardHead]

Dear James (and everyone else here),

Am I the only one who thinks that someone (pref. Mr. James W. McNew) needs to write a brand new poem entitled, "Moonrise In Greenleaf Cemetery", encompassing some of the poetry and emotions already present in this little short true tale?

How perfect...just before Harvest Season...and HALLOWEEN!

Thank you, Sir.

[Sardonikus]

Wow, that would be cool indeed, HowardHead! I have been known to dabble in doggerel, but the Muse is fickle with me. Unlike REH, I am not constantly plugged into that poetic 'sweet spot'; he was 10,000 times the poet that I am!

Nevertheless, to stand before his grave in the light of the full moon...I can only compare that moment to one other: when I visited Canterbury Cathedral in 1990 and stood at the spot where Archbishop Thomas Becket was martyred, I felt that same weird charge in the air!

Maybe I will set the experience to rhyme soon. Hopefully it will do the event justice. The best thing, though, for any true REH devotee, is to experience the event for themselves. As I said before, no words I or anyone could write can fully capture the magic of the occasion.

(There is, admittedly, a weird footnote to the story of that night. Some time after moonrise, at 8:52 pm, I did hear three strange and startling cries that seemed to emanate from a point approximately 30 yds away from the grave. I have the exact time of the incident because I texted my friend Ken, aka ConquerorWyrm here at conan.com, right after I heard them. As best as I can describe them, they sounded like a combination of (?) raven and human, or a human making a raven-like croak/cry. Now of course it is extremely TEMPTING to think that these cries had some supernatural origin; they were certainly startling and more than a bit frightening. The rational side of me, however, attributes the sounds to some distressed or angry animal in the area. I am therefore loath to include these noises in my 'official' account of the visit, mostly because I don't wish to be thought of as a crank, but they sure did add to the surreal atmosphere of the experience!)

Edited by Sardonikus, 14 September 2012 - 03:32 AM.