​Swiftly Flying Shadow Bands
 Published in The Blue Nib Literary Magazine

 inspired by the eclipse in the summer of 2017

​what sky is this
with dragons winged
wolves with mouths

for gulping suns
where Orion went to hunt
the grounds

held bright by Rigel, Betelgeuse
where Aquila arched, swooped
winging the summer sky

for Altair afire
where banished to northern horizons
Callisto and Arcas

patrol Polaris, Cassiopeia hovering near
entreating Vega bid Lyra play
who could sooth anger raging

lull jaded souls serene
where Jovian moons bejeweled by Galileo
join Kepler’s Laws, Huygen’s rings

blazing open our skies for Hubble to view the beginning
where doomed stars ghost into dust
coalescing into sentience

while Voyager wanders heavens
when Luna devours our star
the wrath of gods unknown

casting darkness on earth
and violet seas of shade
tsunami the last utterances of light

consuming and calming
flitting silently over our home
dancing in the grey

a visible wind evanescent
in the terrestrial atmosphere
only a visitor among

constellations ancient
swiftly flying shadow bands
hanging poised in path of totality

rippling a refraction portending cosmic omens bad
when the sun abandoned the earth
eaten by the moon

​to cries of, “What sky is this?”