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| Flickr Creative Commons Photo by John 'K' |
As If to Demonstrate an Eclipse
by Billy Collins
I pick an orange from a wicker basket
and place it on the table
to represent the sun.
Then down at the other end
a blue and white marble
becomes the earth
and nearby I lay the little moon of an aspirin.
I pick an orange from a wicker basket
and place it on the table
to represent the sun.
Then down at the other end
a blue and white marble
becomes the earth
and nearby I lay the little moon of an aspirin.
(read the rest of the poem here)
Mark your calendar and set your alarm -- there's going to be a total lunar eclipse this Sunday night peaking about 10:00 PM. It's an eclipse of a Supermoon! Way cool. The eastern half of North America will be able to see the entire eclipse. Read more about it here and here.
This week, Janet Wong is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup at Sylvia's blog Poetry For Children.
I love Billy Collins. Great poem and thanks for the info on the eclipse!
ReplyDeleteI like knowing that we'll be doing the same thing at the same time... And Billy Collins just wows me every time. xo
ReplyDeleteVERY excited about this celestial event! (Please please, clouds blow on by!) Thanks for the Collins. xo
ReplyDelete"Cockeyed with gratitude" made me smile. Doesn't "Blood Moon" sound ominous? I'm looking forward to looking up on Sunday night.
ReplyDeleteLots of talk here about the 'super moon'. I'll drive to the edge of the city-can't miss it. And I'll think of you and Billy Collins, too, Mary Lee. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for sharing about the eclipse; gives us something heavenly to look forward--& up! to. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday! I am very excited about the supermoon. :)
ReplyDeleteWow. I hadn't read this one before. I love all the specifics and all the nouns adding up to a big abstract picture.
ReplyDeleteWe are SO excited here in Seattle about the eclipse, Mary Lee, which will be mostly visible, especially when the supermoon re-emerges in all its glory. Clear skies are predicted - a rare event!!! Whoop-de-doo! (And thanks for Billy Collins's poem.)
ReplyDeleteCan't you just picture Billy Collins, with his glass of red wine, writing this? He never fails to delight. Hoping for a clear Sunday night sky!
ReplyDeleteI could listen to Billy Collins recite poetry for hours. In fact, I did years ago when he presented at our state conference. I will be traveling home from Pennsylvania on Sunday night so I hope I can catch at glimpse at 10:00. May have to pull over. Thanks for letting me know, Mary Lee.
ReplyDeleteI hope the sky is clear on Sunday! "not making it spin too fast or slow" reminds me of the adult novel, The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. If you haven't read it, it is quite thought provoking!
ReplyDelete"Cockeyed with gratitude" made me smile, too. Thanks so much for this. We're hoping the weather is clear so we can get a good view Sunday evening.
ReplyDeleteA perfect poem for preparing for the eclipse!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful and quite a poem for an eclipse. Its so visual. It's my first poem by this poet. Thanks for introducing him to me.
ReplyDeleteSadly, we won't get the Supermoon eclipse in Australia - but you all enjoy! :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary Lee, thanks for joining our Poetry Friday crew this week-- and for making this poetic connection with this super-eclipse. I'm pretty excited about it too and I predict many more poems will be written!
ReplyDeleteFabulous poem--and I'm hoping to see the eclipse!
ReplyDeleteYour poem reminds me of the video I posted last Monday of guys setting up a scale model of the solar system. We can't resist the imagining, can we? I'm afraid the weather is going to make it difficult for us to see much.
ReplyDeleteCool poem, and thanks for the heads up about the eclipse!
ReplyDeleteWhoa. That one is quintessential Billy, and yet different--kind of solitary and serious. Good find.
ReplyDeleteNow that our buses run 20 measly minutes later (you know, for the teens to get "more sleep"), I miss The Writer's Almanac every day. I must go and subscribe to the podcast right this second...
For once being tardy (reading Friday's poetry on Monday) has paid off! I saw said Blood/Super Moon last night - wow, what a treat! As is Billy's poem. Love that he grew "more cockeyed with gratitude" - opening a bottle of wine will do that to you. ;o)
ReplyDeleteBlood Super Moon
ReplyDeletealas
it rained.