The Man In the Moon Poetry Art Book , Original poetry book, Poetry gift, Art poetry book

This book of original poetry and art, titled “The Man In the Moon,” features original paintings from my studio and poems from my own pen. Printed on high-quality gloss paper, the 42-page gift book pairs 21 original poems with artwork in a professionally designed format. The book dimensions are 9” x 7” with a matte-finish cover, soft bound.

Artwork is abstract and impressionist landscapes and figures, and poems focus on nature and childhood impressions—the title poem reads:

The bald head of the moon
casts a light on the roof tops
as if he has his own fire,
some internal kindling he can stoke
just by blowing on it,
that old-timer sitting on the porch step
whittling away at a cedar branch,
letting the shavings fall all around him
while he works at making nothing in particular,
spitting a wad of cherry chew
into the dirt between where
his unlaced boots are planted,
stopping to wipe his nose
on the back of his weathered hand
as flies pester his best dog
and beetles make a meal of his crape myrtles.
He ponders the stars with his carving
and admires the shapes the terrain makes
about this time of an evening, and he mumbles,
“Well, ain’t that the prettiest thing you ever saw?”
Later, he’ll switch on the radio,
pour himself a shot of whiskey
from the bottle in the back of the cabinet
and dance a jig on the floor boards,
humming a tune from his childhood
when he played the banjo
with his brothers on a Saturday night,
Mama singing in the kitchen.
And come bedtime,
after he’s had the last of the cornbread
and washed the bowl and ladle,
he’ll tuck his long legs under the blanket,
pat that good old dog on his boney head
and sleep the sleep of a man
who leads a simple life
and knows the joy of a job well done.


© 2023 by Robyn Martins (art and poetry). All rights reserved.

*Designed by Robyn Martins and printed by Book Baby Publishing.