Track 21 – Howling at the Moon

One evening, I was watching the moonglow over our Georgia marsh, and it was so beautiful that I wanted to thank God for making such a special moment and such a moving scene. As I started to hum a tune of gratitude up toward Heaven, I remembered Granny Pearl once saying that her Nettle Carrier ancestors believed that God created the moon on the fourth day, so on the fourth day of every month, they howled up at the moon in reverence to God’s gift of the moon. Since it was the fourth day of the month, instead of humming a tune, I howled at the moon, thanking God for the beauty of the marsh, and for all that is good. Then I went inside, and, staring up at the moon, I wrote this song. Ever since, on the fourth day of the month, if no one is looking, I howl at the moon, thankful for another night to see it.