The Day of the Eclipse

Leaves patchwork a trail to the stream.
My footfall on the bank scatters trout
who come to spawn each August, jeweled
reflections following instinct.

My son called today, a should-he
or shouldn’t-he conversation. I listened,
questioned. His indecision is unknown
by wild things who live the primordial,
the insatiable.

Through the trees, moon eclipses sun
in an eerie twilight unruled by manners,
mores, norms. Crickets start reverberations
in the trees. Bright glints in the water move
through my shadow, the moon’s shadow —
stars in an ancient galaxy.

– Sarah Russell
First published in Autumn Sky Poetry Daily

46 thoughts on “The Day of the Eclipse”

  2. I love how you watched the eclipse. I stood under a tree and watched the crescent shaped shadows underneath – fade to nothing and then reverse. I like your conversation with your son included in this: His indecision is unknown
    by wild things who live the primordial

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    1. Thanks so much, Jane. When there is a phenomenon of nature, especially when it is a peaceful event, rather than cataclysm, it brings a lot into focus. I think Americans needed this at this time in our history.

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  8. I only got to watch a partial eclipse but your writing is stunning with these lines;

    Through the trees, the moon eclipses the sun
    in an eerie twilight unruled by manners,
    mores, norms~

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  10. I love that ‘should he’ or ‘shouldn’t he’ mother son conversation. Lovely & interesting. Also the image of trout spawning, eclipse & the ancient sky. Were you able to see the diamond ring?

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  12. I love how you set the scene in the first two stanzas, with the trout’s ‘jeweled reflections following instinct’ (they know where they are going) and the conversation with your indecisive son – a lovely juxtaposition, which threads its way into the rest of the poem and the eclipse..

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  13. Thanks for the glimpse of the extraordinary in the ordinary day … which turned out, after all, wasn’t quite ordinary either. Interesting contrast of scenes. I wish I could call and talk to my Mum with that level of openness … Your son is blessed.

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      1. Even without meeting you in person, the candour and thoughtfulness in your poetry clearly show how wonderful you are. I’m sure your mother would be proud to realise that too. 🙂

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  14. It was overcast and so we didn’t see the eclipse. I liked this line: “Crickets start reverberations
    in the trees. ” It makes me wonder how to video-sound record not the eclipse itself but what is happening around me before, during and after it.

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  15. I’ve heard that animals behave strangely during an eclipse. That would be an interesting study. I wonder if anyone has done one. Thanks for the props about reverberations. That phrase had been dancing in my head for about a week before the eclipse, so I had to use it.

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  19. Crickets start reverberations in the trees….. here in Mumbai it is raining and insects resonated from the trees. My son called today…… this binds all mother together. your poem has a very earth element, Sarah.

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