By Daniel Paiz

April 8th, 2024 was the date of the heavily lauded, flash of a momentous occasion known as a solar eclipse. The moon decides with its trajectory to interrupt the sun’s regularly scheduled light during the middle of the day. People across the United States flew, drove, and more to catch this rare occurrence. Four minutes is not very long for an event, but at the same time, it could’ve felt like forever. Such an event inspires this NaPoWriMo entry tonight.

Four Minutes

Anticipation,

expecting a view one has read about,

studied and perhaps even dreamed,

but a moment not often witnessed,

and years later one perhaps forgets what they had seen.

Planning, traveling, lack of sleeping,

alarms beeping as the time approaches,

where time winds down,

clocking seconds before the planet is quite quiet beneath thee.

An always expanding sky,

our half fishbowl view ignites,

until darkness creeps and anxiety subsides.

celestials exist unawares of this blue marble,

likely swapping liquid to gaseous,

rumbling about and bumping into each other without fright.

A brief spotlight on la luna as day momentarily welcomes night,

generational glimmering as the sun winks to end four minutes of delight.