今天是中秋节，想起小时候逢此节日，离家不远的地方还有人“烧塔”，自己和闻讯赶来的小孩一起围着红彤彤的火塔兴奋不已，四处找可烧的东西往里添。如今除了和家人团聚，中秋节渐成月饼节。天气预报多云阵雨，月亮也未必能见着。想想古诗里的月，也算是精神上的赏月。

海上生明月，天涯共此时。

山寺月中寻桂子，郡亭枕上看潮头。

举杯邀明月，对影成三人。

秦时明月汉时关，万里长征人未还。

长安一片月，万户捣衣声。

春色恼人眠不得，月移花影上栏干。

月宫幸有闲田地，何不中央种两株。

明月照我影，送我至剡溪。

我本将心向明月，奈何明月照沟渠。

星垂平野阔，月涌大江流。

露从今夜白，月是故乡明。

月明星稀，乌鹊南飞。

月上柳梢头，人约黄昏后。

疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏。

我寄愁心与明月，随君直到夜郎西。

月落乌啼霜满天，枫江渔火对愁眠。

月子弯弯照九州，几家欢乐几家愁。几家高楼饮美酒，几家飘零在外头。

人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

在恒河沙数的古诗里，写到月的实在不少。即使我这个非文艺青年，也能想起不下十几首。诗里的月，大多是作为一物一景的描写，也有一些拟人化和人间事的对照。月出现的频次如此高，远胜日和群星，除了物理上它是人们可肉眼直视的最大最亮的天体，也与她渐渐被赋予了文化的内涵，成为中国文化里常见的意象不无关系。

月与古人的生活如此亲近紧密，若设身处地，也是不难想象的。没有现代都市高楼大厦的遮蔽、雾霾尘埃之蒙纱和文明象征之夜晚灯火之耀眼，每个晴朗的夜晚，月光星辉都伴随着千家万户。苍茫漆黑的夜空，一弯或一轮明月促唤的幽思是诗情的最好源泉。

月的盈亏周期，不仅成为农业社会人们计算时日的天然尺度，也被与人世的圆缺和变迁联在一起。圆这个几何形状被寄予了文化意涵。从中心到边缘处处距离相等，从圆心任何角度的旋转对称，从这些几何本质到无棱无角、饱满光滑、周而复始、滚动无碍这些形状上给人的印象，再到被联想赋予和谐、圆满、团圆的人间状态。阴柔的月光与崇文重情的中华文化的气质十分契合。所有这些一起造就了月的独特地位。

想到这里，我又对西人在诗中如何描写月感到好奇。上网搜索了几首英文诗。

FROM THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

The moving Moon went up the sky

And nowhere did abide;

Softly she was going up,

And a star or two beside.

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)柯勒律治

TO THE MOON

Art thou pale for weariness

Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,

Wandering companionless

Among the stars that have a different birth,

And ever changing, like a Joyless eye

That finds no object worth its constancy?

By Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)雪莱

Is the moon tired? she looks so pale

Within her misty veil;

She scales the sky from east to west,

And takes no rest.

Before the coming of the night

The moon shows papery white;

Before the dawning of the day

She fades away.

O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the east,

Shine, be increased.

O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the west,

Wane, be at rest.

THE HALF MOON SHOWS A FACE OF PLAINTIVE SWEETNESS

The half moon shows a face of plaintive sweetness

Ready and poised to wax or wane.

A fire of pale desire in incompleteness

Tending to pleasure or to pain.

Lo, while we gaze she rolleth on in fleetness

To perfect loss or perfect gain.

Half bitterness we know, we know half sweetness.

This world is all on wax, on wane.

When shall completeness round time‘s incompleteness,

Fulfilling joy, fulfilling pain?

Lo, while we ask, life rolleth on in fleetness

To finished loss or finished gain.

By Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)罗赛蒂

WE‘LL GO NO MORE A-ROVING

Though the night was made for loving

And the day returns too soon

Yet we‘ll go no more a-roving

By the light of the moon

By George Gordon Byron(1788-1824)拜伦

FULL MOON

One night as Dick lay fast asleep

Into his drowsy eyes.

A great still light began to creep

From out the silent skies.

It was the lovely moon‘s, for when

He raised his dreamy head,

Her surge of silver filled the pane

And streamed across his bed.

So, for awhile, each gazed at each

Dick and the solemn moon

Till, climbing slowly on her way,

She vanished,and was gone.

By Walter de la Mare(1873-1956)沃尔特·德·拉·马雷

MOON‘S ENDING

Moon, worn thin to the width of a quill,

In the dawn clouds flying,

How good to go, light into light, and still

Giving light,dying.

By Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)莎拉·迪斯德尔

NEW MOON

The new moon,of no importance

lingers behind as the yellow sun glares

and is gone beyond the sea‘s edge;

earth smokes blue;

the new moon,in cool height above the blushes,

brings a fresh fragrance of heaven to our senses.

By D.H.Lawrence (1885-1930)劳伦斯

不少是集中描写月亮的情态的，风格上与中国诗的差别，就像中西文学上的差异一样。有趣的是女诗人罗赛蒂的THE HALF MOON SHOWS A FACE OF PLAINTIVE SWEETNESS中将月之盈亏与人世间的圆满和不足、悲伤与喜悦联系在一起，颇类中国诗人。

中秋思月