Sun and Moon, bring us together, 
all of us, sky watchers, stargazers 
staring up, dreaming out beyond ourselves.
Let us wonder at our clockwork universe
and witness your magical vanishing act.

We want to stand in the sweet spot, 
aligned on the path of totality, 
to watch as the Moon’s umbra flies 
from Mazatlan to Newfoundland,
over Texas, Ohio, and Maine, gathering our homes,
schools, farmlands, and rapt, upturned faces.
We want to converge with you, 
disappear for a moment, crowned 
with a gleaming, evanescent corona.

What diamond of insight can be revealed
as the Moon begins to nibble at the Sun’s edge, 
while metallic, liquid light swims about, 
fraying the corners of our blankets? 
What can we see in the dark?

We humans are here on this earth to gawk,
to bear witness to the spectacular. 
Teach us, Sun and Moon, to live in alignment.
Remind us our hearts are small cousins 
of you, our home star, rhythmically 
pulsing, expanding and contracting. 
Guide us in your cosmic dance.
Pull us together along a shared path
to whoop and cheer at your beauty.

by David Hassler