Penumbra

 

Fireflies blink as sunlight hides

behind the frosted moon

Darkness lies in crescent lines

when dawn is truly noon

Coaxing me like corpse’s kiss

unnaturally alone

Sun shines bright from day till night

until it’s warmth is gone

Unkind skies hold geese who fly

with words not meant for us

Checkmarks sign as fast as fire

the fate which lies at dusk

Dancing men forget to send

their lamps of solitude

Fluttering kites pass idly by

their eyes a frightening glue

Rip fast apart the beating hearts

no matter fast nor slow

Pilgrims span the wanton lands

but never know dove’s snow

Pears which grow in shaded groves

taste bitter like the sea

Spastic haze is set ablaze

from English breakfast tea

In deserts of our own desire

It’s easy to forget

 

The masters of our world keep hold

in heavy steel sewn net.

 

Sage Wyatt is a biology student at Mary Baldwin University, who writes poetry as a creative outlet. “Penumbra” was written on a chilly fall evening after the nationwide solar eclipse. While watching nature exist freely around her, Sage was reminded that even though life is often shadowed in constructs of pain and power, we can be liberated by the small, priceless pleasures which pass us by.