Eye has not seen.

Glassless in the expectant backyard

back to the sun, I waited for darkness

the day obscured

the voices online expressed wonder, searched for words, felt

in the house the light was low, but I could not rest

I walked room to room floor to floor minute after minute

as totality swept over the land

a sense of being not alone, but rather

in the company of all whom I have known

the living and the dead, seized me

not being pursued, but being surrounded embraced

lifted up by unseen faces and voices known and loved

tears swept from eyes that had not seen

at last to a crescendo of fullness

no need to take food again

and mind and heart filled to all with all that could be needed

and then, the sun calmly brightened by the window

through the glass

I stopped and for an instant, saw.

(After the eclipse April 8, 2024).

[Photo: Nasa website, Photo of the Day]

The Blessing

To sit in silence by an evening fire
To allow the thoughts to flow
To remember the faces seen today, smiling
And the faces of past days, sometimes too in tears
To lift up the heart in prayer
To open the soul to the possible
And to trust in what will come.
This is the blessing tonight
And in every moment, seen or unseen, there is a blessing.
And so, always reason to offer thanks.