Total Eclipse
ode
The birds huddled as one against the sudden dark then stepped apart and sang when the sun returned. People huddled as one in the dark to watch with wonder as the sun and moon entwined. When the sun returned, people stayed close to one another and told the stories about the totality of the totality they'd just seen. I only watched it on the news and I was jealous because I realized that those who saw the eclipse, the total, had created a four- minute church while the birds taught us that it's wise to gather as one to protect ourselves against the terrors that exist in the dark and the birds also taught us the joy of praise when the sun offers its blessings. Ah, we need the birds, of course, just as we need the eclipse to remind us humans that wonder—silent and voluminous wonder— is one of the greater gift that humans and birds can offer to one another.
This is wonderful! It reminds me of the quote from Terry Tempest Williams, “Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”
Oh, you are so right.
I watched in the path of totality. One of the most incredible experiences of a lifetime time. Some, who were unable to watch , or did not care to watch, would say; I saw pictures, it wasn’t all that.
I did not view with a crowd. I chose the solitude of a still iced over lake. The comfort of an Adirondack chair. And a fire to take the chill on a glorious blue sky day.
I watched with a couple of friends. One, did not really care to be there, but came anyways. As we all leaned back in our chairs and totality was moments away, I swear, he almost shouted with joy.
Anyone who looked up would tell you it was a camaraderie of strangers.
Even the long hours of traffic backed up were filled with happy, content ,
and polite people.
I will borrow the name from 1988
movie ( taken out of context, having absolutely nothing to do with the movie itself).
Just the name, if you will .
‘The unbearable lightness of being.’
That is exactly what we all shared.
( Unfortunately, I can not say the same for the birds, who did not know day from night).