After Evening It Was Daytime

at two in the afternoon
it became evening

white was black full circle
and even planet and starshine

made me wish that
the millions of us gazing up

to reverence the change
might mean Oh

now all will be different
after six months of waking up

each morning to hope
for fires ceasing

for hospitals up and running
for trucks full of life

saving supplies rolling in
but I know what I see

what I saw what awed
and awestruck me

at two in the afternoon
it became evening and after

that daytime again
all its usual and trying hours

•  https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/08/total-solar-eclipse-path-map

Matthew Murrey is the author of Bulletproof, (Jacar Press, 2019) and the forthcoming collection, Little Joy (Cornerstone Press, 2026). He has recently had poems in One, Anthropocene, Whale Road Review, and elsewhere. He was a public school librarian for 21 years, and lives in Urbana, IL with his partner. He can be found on Instagram and Bluesky under the handle @mytwords. Read other articles by Matthew, or visit Matthew's website.