We’ll See — Seven, The Eclipse

Tina Overbury
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read
Photograph by Colleen Pinski, National Geographic Your Shot

Something powerful enough to fill the world with heat and light goes dark every once and awhile. When it does, we’re told not to look too close for fear of being blinded.

We’ll see, I think.

We’ll see.

There’s something remarkable about being part of a planetary system which is constantly moving. It’s hard to hold on sometimes. I wrote this poem almost twenty years ago now. I went digging for it tonight because my heart needed to hear it again. Here it is for you.


When the moon rolls in front of the sun

We hold what we know

and what we’ll see

like naked hands in the dark

photo by Tuca Bianca

I saw my house vanish

silently from seven years old

bloody knees from my two-wheeler

falling

my yellow lunch box slamming on the tile tub

shards of depression glass mixed with

mum’s dying and overgrown garden

the knowing looks of my dad and I

44 years between us

wrapping mum’s fancy, ruby red glasses

that meant cherry wine, summer and pigtails

into newspaper and boxes

of 5806 Sophia Street

I had memorized my address

phone number

last name

how many fingers of my years old

knew never, ever to stop and talk to a stranger

‘cause she said so

and mum knew

mum

Photo by fill

in grade two a quiet came

mum said the moon was getting really envious of the sun

and had to stop it from shining

I couldn’t watch

so I counted 482 cracks instead

kept my head down to the ground

and walked to school

I didn’t want my eyes to burn out

like mum said they would

but I listened

and I felt it.

Twenty one years later

and just seven months ago

I met a man at a bus stop

spoke to a stranger with the sun in his heart

and for six weeks, things were simple

the moon wept

and the sun

feeling no threat,

gave

photo by Adina Voicu

a couple of weeks ago

he wrote to me from across the planet

all about chasing that same jealous moon

through two countries in his ka(r),

brimming with laughter and hopeless bags of fruit

sitting with friends and a small gathering

of french farmers

on a hill that overlooks green upon green

another after another

and with his head up,

eyes open and breath full

he saw it

felt it and understood

the hush

of the sun and the moon touching briefly

rolling into each other

if only for a moment

I’ve a very old photograph

of a smiling and comfortable woman

standing in front of a speckled house

on Sophia St.

It’s creased and worn

from the many folds and tucks

made into an 8 yr old’s back pocket

she sits beside my dressing table

beneath a yellowed and withering letter from the same girl

to her dad

they’re there on purpose

to remind me

that how

like the moon’s constant pursuit of the sun

some things pass quickly

and can easily be missed.


TinaO is a Core Story Specialist and the story behind TinaOLife — Stories from the Core. Want some more? Check her out here.

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Tina Overbury

Written by

Chief Story Officer-Intentional Success, Core Story Specialist, Creator-Live Your Best Story, TinaOLife.com. Writer, Story Catcher & Professional Listener.

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