Sunset Moon

acrylic on panel – 28″ X 22″
© 2022 Sandra Ware

A moment’s soft defiance
Hanwi slips early into the evening sky
Her face half-hidden in twilit clouds
Shying from the shame of her loneliness

What gift to rule the Night?
When daily she had walked with the Sun
Even now she is too late
Warmth and color linger at the world’s edge
          … but Wi is gone

According to Lakota legend, Hanwi, the Moon Goddess and her husband Wi, The Sun God, were meant to travel together across the sky. But Wi became infatuated with Ite, a beautiful mortal woman; and at a banquet of the gods, Wi acquiesced when the brazen Ite hurriedly possessed the seat of honor next to him, shutting Hanwi from her rightful place.

Hanwi was humiliated, and the incident caused consternation among the gods. So much so, that Skan the Sky God, as ruler and judge, decreed that Ite should be banished and Wi sentenced to forever travel the day alone. Hanwi in consolation was given her own place in the night sky.

In her travels, Hanwi recalls her humiliation, turning her face away in shame, producing the phases of the moon. In the painting, I have imagined that a lonely Hanwi has risen a bit early into the twilight sky hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband who sadly has already slipped beneath the horizon.

© 2023 Sandra Ware