Am I the only one disappointed that Saturday’s Supermoon was a no-show?  At least in my area where a mass of clouds blotted the spectacle from sight.  That seems to be my luck when it comes to “sky events,” although I do recall witnessing a solar eclipse when I was a kid. Once.

And then there are shooting stars. Some people collect them by the handful. Not me. I don’t recall ever seeing one until I was an adult despite my penchant for stargazing. That’s my luck.

As a kid I had my own telescope and kept up with the hobby into my early adult years. I loved being outside cloaked in darkness, wrapped in the silence of a still night with nothing but starlight and the moon for company. To this day I’m enthralled by planetariums and could spend hours in one.

I’ve always been a little moonstruck, but know I’m not alone. Throughout the ages the moon has been the subject of folklore, ballads, philosophy and art. Poets, musicians and writers have all been bewitched by it and have romanticized it in turn. I know it’s a chunk of rock with a mantle, core and crust pockmarked by craters, but I prefer to think of it as an ancient siren call to werewolves . . . an enchantress that beckons lovers to embrace; a fickle mistress that flees with the dawn. There’s magic in moonlight. Stories to be told and worlds to conjure.

The next Supermoon will take place on June 23, 2013. Hopefully, the sky will be clear enough for a dazzling lunar spectacle. In the meantime I’ll be weaving tales kindled by moonlight while patiently waiting for the next heavenly show.

What about you? Does a full moon or a crisp star-strewn night inspire you to write?