To quote the title of a recent article in USA Today, “The ‘da Vinci’ glow, or ‘Earthshine’ is coming soon. What is it?” (by Doyle Rice, May 18). If you don’t know what that is, the article explains it.
The end of the article mentions that “The da Vinci glow is best seen a few days before and after a new moon, right after sunset or before sunrise.” The next full moon will be the “strawberry moon” on June 3, in case you’d like to try to view it.
And below is a short poem to go with your reading of the article:
Earthshine
Mona had da Vinci’s glow,
the Lord had his shine—
Peter waxing,
Judas waining out the door.
He was wrong though,
clouds the cause and
not the ocean,
but the crescent
is ablaze this evening
and the dark side full,
just for a moment past sunset
before eyelids close to the darkness
and again
to greet the blessing of dawn,
quickly burning into day.
Earthshine
Mona had da Vinci’s glow,
the Lord had his shine—
Peter waxing,
Judas waining out the door.
He was wrong though,
clouds the cause and
not the ocean,
but the crescent
is ablaze this evening
and the dark side full,
just for a moment past sunset
before eyelids close to the darkness
and again
to greet the blessing of dawn,
quickly burning into day.
| Copyright © 2023 by Michael E. (Maik) Strosahl Maik has focused on poetry for over twenty years, during which time he served a term as President of the Poetry Society of Indiana. He relocated to Jefferson City, Missouri, in 2018 and currently co-hosts a writers group there. |
I found this article about the upcoming “strawberry moon”: “When is the next full moon? The 'strawberry' moon is June 3 (Doyle Rice & Joel Shannon, USA TODAY).
ReplyDeleteI like to read a poem without an intro explanation. That is what I did two weeks ago when I first read Maik's poem. My life is convoluted with being a caretaker, sight issues, and other mess, but after reading this poem, I became inspired.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, my lack of access to computers and the Internet has me tied up and tongue twisted.
Today I finally began typing the poem this poem inspired. It presently takes up over three pages of my notebook. Anyway, here the first lines. Hopefully I get time and energy to finish typing it out.
Yes, the clouds can be oceans,
the tides, great tug-of-wars between winds,
and I waited for the forty days and forty nights
for rain to drown out my distaste of humanity.
I am hopeful--
Your phrase, “distaste of humanity,” strikes a dark chord for me. I hope the poem will explore those depths.
DeleteI love the little taste! Look forward to seeing the whole piece! Glad you were inspired!
ReplyDeleteMaik, can you tell us where in da Vinci’s writings he said that the ocean was the cause of the glow? I refer to your lines:
ReplyDeleteHe was wrong though,
clouds the cause and
not the ocean,
I did not research any deeper than what the article stated, comparing his theory to current thought.
ReplyDelete