Anticipating the Eclipse

Where should we be when it happens?
Certainly within a mile of entirety,
no matter the traffic or distance.

To think of all the people
(because after all this is America
and we love a road trip)
congregating in an arc
from Oregon to South Carolina,
a 3,000 mile piece of performance art.
Will we be visible from space?

Should we bring sparklers?
Should we practice howling?
Should we go to a cemetery?

Our glasses are bought and t-shirts
will be everywhere for sale
along the way, such is capitalism
in small towns, where preparations
are being made, and a prize
for the best eclipse fare.

It will be epic. It will be big.

It will be even better
than when the clock struck midnight
and the century changed
and we banged pots and pans
and no planes fell from the sky.