jdbphoto
Pollyanna
If we choose to hide the light,
and bring about a quickened night,
no one else can ease our plight
as darkness limits heart and sight.
Yet take a lesson from the sun
that is not hidden from anyone
for more than a short time before
a crack appears beside her door.
What hides her light moves on and then
light is restored as it has been.
So find that brightness at your core.
Perpetual darkness is a bore.
The prompt today was “Eclipse.“
What shadow bigger than a lunar eclipse? I am lucky enough to have seen the eclipse of two blood moons in Mexico. Below are photos or links to photos of each, along with a rewrite of a poem I wrote after witnessing the first one.
Lunar Eclipse
Last night I rose to watch the full eclipse––
a blood orange moon, full in the dark night sky,
around it, scattered stars and tall palm tips.
It was as though in this world, only I
watched the last fingernail of glowing moon,
chewed at by shadow, slowly wane and die.
And then the night birds with their lonely croon
gave timbre to this darkened night soon joined
by lonely burro, braying for the moon
Perhaps they mourned for vision now purloined
or simply sang for joy of adding to
the beauty of this dark moon newly coined.
Then once again the moon’s edge came to view.
Earth moved aside in favor of the sun
and for an hour, I watched as moonlight grew.
I sought my bed, the pageant not yet done,
as light increased and shadow slowly waned.
Inevitably, once more light had won.
The ending known, no mystery remained.
This poem is written in terza rima, a form invented by Dante and used in The Divine Comedy. It consists of three-line stanzas, with a “chained” rhyme scheme. The first stanza is ABA, the second is BCB, the third is CDC, and so on. No particular meter is necessary, but English poets have tended to default to iambic pentameter. One common way of ending a terza rima poem is with a single line standing on its own, rhyming with the middle line of the preceding three-line stanza.
See more blood moon photos here: https://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/09/27/eclipse-of-the-blood-moon-over-mexico/
And smaller shadows here: https://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/09/03/reflections-shadows-cees-black-and-white-challenge/
If you want to write to this prompt, you can post what you’ve written here: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/shadow/
Since we also had a full Lunar Eclipse in 2014, I’m reblogging a poem I wrote for the first one. The photos are also from that eclipse. I was able to capture the full eclipse last time, but the cloud cover prevented that this time. I did capture it for most of its cycle, however, and you can view tonight’s pictures HERE.
Lunar Eclipse
Lunar Eclipse
Last night I rose to watch the full eclipse––
a blood orange moon, full in the dark night sky,
around it, scattered stars and tall palm tips.
It was as though in this world, only I
watched the last fingernail of glowing moon,
chewed at by shadow, slowly wane and die.
And then the night birds with their lonely croon
gave timbre to this darkened night soon joined
by lonely burro, braying for the moon
as though they mourned for vision now purloined
or simply sang for joy of adding to
the beauty of this dark moon newly coined.
Then once again the moon’s edge came to view.
Earth moved aside in favor of the sun
and for an hour, I watched as moonlight grew.
Then sought my bed, the pageant not yet done,
as light increased and shadow slowly waned.
Inevitably, once more light had won.
The ending known, no mystery remained.
Our prompt today was to write a poem in terza rima, a form invented by Dante and used in The Divine Comedy. It consists of three-line stanzas, with a “chained” rhyme scheme. The first stanza is ABA, the second is BCB, the third is CDC, and so on. No particular meter is necessary, but English poets have tended to default to iambic pentameter. One common way of ending a terza rima poem is with a single line standing on its own, rhyming with the middle line of the preceding three-line stanza.
Here is a link to the pictures I took of the lunar eclipse on September 27 & 28 of 2015! https://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/09/27/eclipse-of-the-blood-moon-over-mexico/
Worldly Ritual
One occurrence that is viewed the world over is the eclipse. In Mexico, there are still some rituals practiced. Parents tie red cloth around their children’s wrists and the necks of animals–dogs, cattle, horses–and farmers protect their crops in the same way by tying red cloth around gates or fence posts. I wrote about my own lunar ritual over a year and a half ago when few present viewers were reading my blog. My poem was written in complicated terza rima–a form explained in that post. To read my poem about the eclipse, go HERE.
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Daily Ritual.” Think about your day. Select one of your daily rituals and explain it to us: why do you do what you do? How did you come to adopt this ritual? What happens on days when you can’t perform it?
Lunar Eclipse
Last night I rose to watch the full eclipse––
a blood orange moon, full in the dark night sky,
around it, scattered stars and tall palm tips.
It was as though in this world, only I
watched the last fingernail of glowing moon,
chewed at by shadow, slowly wane and die.
And then the night birds with their lonely croon
gave timbre to this darkened night soon joined
by lonely burro, braying for the moon
as though they mourned for vision now purloined
or simply sang for joy of adding to
the beauty of this dark moon newly coined.
Then once again the moon’s edge came to view.
Earth moved aside in favor of the sun
and for an hour, I watched as moonlight grew.
Then sought my bed, the pageant not yet done,
as light increased and shadow slowly waned.
Inevitably, once more light had won.
The ending known, no mystery remained.
Our prompt today was to write a poem in terza rima, a form invented by Dante and used in The Divine Comedy. It consists of three-line stanzas, with a “chained” rhyme scheme. The first stanza is ABA, the second is BCB, the third is CDC, and so on. No particular meter is necessary, but English poets have tended to default to iambic pentameter. One common way of ending a terza rima poem is with a single line standing on its own, rhyming with the middle line of the preceding three-line stanza.
See more blood moon photos here: https://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/09/27/eclipse-of-the-blood-moon-over-mexico/
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 