Full Moon

No longer throne of a goddess to whom we pray,

no longer the bubble house of childhood's

tumbling Mother Goose man,

 The emphatic moon ascends –

the brilliant challenger of rocket experts,

the white hope of communications men.

 Some I love who are dead

were watchers of the moon and knew its lore;

planted seeds, trimmed their hair,

 Pierced their ears for gold hoop earrings

as it waxed or waned.

It shines tonight upon their graves.

 And burned in the garden of Gethsemane,

its light made holy by the dazzling tears

with which it mingled.

 And spread its radiance on the exile's path

of Him who was The Glorious One,

its light made holy by His holiness.

 Already a mooted goal and tomorrow perhaps

an arms base, a livid sector,

the full moon dominates the dark.

Commentary: In the poem full Robert Hayden basically talk about the human prospective on the moon and how over time it changed. The meaning of the moon has changed over the years, some people think it has to do with spirituality and others think its just a plain moon to cover up and brighten the night sky.Robert Hayden wrote this poem long before man actually set foot on the moon but he knew it was only a matter of time and unavoidable to reach the moon. The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite and the it orbits the Earth every 27.3 days. "Full moon" speaks about the absence of the throne of goddess and bubble house of childhood, this creates of symbol of depression because his is missing certain things apart of his childhood. this gives a signal that the tone in the beginning of the poem is despaired. Free verse is the main structure, most of Robert Hayden poems does not have a sense of rhythm or rhyming. There aren't many figurative languages seen, but there's a few personifications. "Full Moon" expresses a deeper connection to the moon and its affect on the people that admire it.