Umbraphile

umbraphile, all agog at the firmament,

suddenly feels as though they can see

the cloockwork of our solar system.

lights start to bend askew in the welkin,

coronaphiles stand in the shade of a tree's shadow.

with the moon covering part of the sun's face,

tiny gaps between leaves act like a pinhole camera.

at partial, crescents flicker ethereal!

ecliptomaniacs are as confused as nature in air’s chill.

fleeting phenomena creeps over earth towards totality;

flowers close up, insects start their twilight song,

birds return to roost, and bats fly as temperatures drop.

ecliptoholics look for the shadow bands alternating

on plain surfaces, moving parallel in undulating waves;

light and dark. check the face of an eclipse chaser,

here comes mercury and venus; jupiter and mars.

the sun melts away in covering blackness, baily's beads

dance, stunning diamond ring, red tongues of solar prominences.

the corona shimmers around the moon’s disk, nautical miles

of painting the sky deep blue black! impossible black ominous

hole cut in, smeared radiant, glowing, shimmering cotton candy

forever etched in the mind of the umbraphile,

now look towards the horizon…sunset on Verdandi!