I can see it now

I can see it now

Even here standing in the dark

Gazing up into a starless sky

A thickly shadowed blanket

Throwing its weight around

Suffocating the beauty out of memory

The wooden deck reminding me

Of the sway of a boat

The sun as blinding in reflection

Off the deeply still water

As it was to look at

Through a piece of darkened glass

When I was a child in the schoolyard

Watching a full-eclipse

‘On no account look directly

At the sun…you will damage your eyes’

How could I have known

How perfect she would look

Standing with her legs braced

Spinning the wheel

Chasing the wind

Silhouetted against the blue

Her smile as wide as the ocean

The laughter of our friends

As they ate lunch in the cabin

Ice-cold beer to wash it down

Later we would play cards

Before an early evening swim

Diving from the boat

Into the deep

If only we were Dolphins

They said it would be as dark

As night

When the moon fully covered

The pulsing disc of Sol

It was more the lack of light

Before a perfect storm

It is no wonder

Ancients thought the world would end

Without a sacrifice

There is all manner of evil

To contend with

Even on a clear night

When a starry sky lightens the mood

There is an emptiness in the air

Threatening to bring

The weight of the sky

Fully down below the threshold

Of welcome reverie

There are no circus performers

Highwire acts

Or trapeze artists

Flying through the air

Even a schoolyard eclipse

Or a Mediterranean cruise

Can be taken with a pinch of salt

As the bitter taste of nostalgia

Brings a frequent flier

Falling all the way

Back down to earth