“Eclipse” – A poem for the most amazing sight in the world

“Eclipse”, by Philip S Davies.

Eclipse

In ’ninety-nine, at 11:11,

Was seen on earth a sign from heaven,

But August 11, to our dismay,

It proved a cloudy summer’s day.

*

On Cornwall’s coast the Sun came by,

To warm the beach where bathers lie,

And just this once, as I can say,

Our circling Moon got in the way.

*

That shining, dusty ball of grey,

By pure coincidence, they say,

A matching size looks to appear,

Beside our Sun, so far from here.

*

Oblivious to our lines of sight

Ellipses run through endless night

Until a chance alignment rare

Displays a sight without compare.

*

Ere break of dawn, in darkest night,

From friends, hotel or muddy campsite,

The tourists came to see the view:

A passing shade for a minute or two.

*

The air was chilled, the darkness grew,

The sea-birds didn’t know what to do,

The people gasped, the crowds all cheered:

The Sun behind our Moon disappeared.

*

The cameras flashed in fading light,

Our seaside view had turned to night,

All sunlight blocked at broadest day:

A sight to take our breath away.

*

Then all at once the shadow passed,

Our chance to see this sight the last;

The headland, waterfront, beach and bay,

Restored too soon to light of day.

*

But out in space, in courses true,

Earth, Moon and Sun had naught to do

But circle on, in orbits far,

As planet, satellite and star.

*


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.