Moonstruck — Summary

Mainak BiswasContemplative

I see you every night In the Black sky, With the bright bright stars. I see your smile to them, to me. I feel your moonlight coming to all. I am not the Night bird, Who prays to You. I am not the Lion, Who is careless to You. I am not the Cloud, Who covers You. But, I am the One, Who loves You.

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Mainak Biswas's "Moonstruck" is a simple, quiet declaration of love addressed to the moon. The speaker looks up at the night sky every night and sees the moon smiling, both at the stars and at him. He notices that its light falls on everyone, yet he still feels personally seen.

The second half of the poem works by contrast. The speaker lists what he is not: the night bird that prays to the moon, the lion that doesn't care about it, the cloud that hides it. Each one has a different relationship to the moon, based on worship, indifference or blocking. Against these, he claims something plainer in the last line: he is the one who loves.

The mood is gentle, sincere and a little wistful. The repeated "bright bright" gives it a childlike warmth, and the capitalized "You" makes the moon feel almost like a beloved person, someone to be spoken to directly.

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