As far as poems go, this poem sits in the center of my sweet spot. Not too long, plain language, science or sport themed…perfect. I read this Billy Collins poem, As If to Demonstrate an Eclipse, a few years ago and loved it. It is a perfect poem for the Thanksgiving holiday. In the Brain Pickings newsletter today, I was reminded of the beauty of this poem. The reading and commentary from comedian Chuck Nice for the Universe in Verse performance is spot on.
Gratitude. It’s one of those unique things that make humans human. It’s something we need now more than ever. Never forget, though, that gratitude takes practice.
AS IF TO DEMONSTRATE AN ECLIPSE
by Billy Collins
I pick an orange from a wicker basket
and place it on the table
to represent the sun.
Then down at the other end
a blue and white marble
becomes the earth
and nearby I lay the little moon of an aspirin.
I get a glass from a cabinet,
open a bottle of wine,
then I sit in a ladder-back chair,
a benevolent god presiding
over a miniature creation myth,
and I begin to sing
a homemade canticle of thanks
for this perfect little arrangement,
for not making the earth too hot or cold
not making it spin too fast or slow
so that the grove of orange trees
and the owl become possible,
not to mention the rolling wave,
the play of clouds, geese in flight,
and the Z of lightning on a dark lake.
Then I fill my glass again
and give thanks for the trout,
the oak, and the yellow feather,
singing the room full of shadows,
as sun and earth and moon
circle one another in their impeccable orbits
and I get more and more cockeyed with gratitude.