As I write, the moon is in its waning crescent; there’ll be a new moon in two days which means we are just one lunar month from a solar eclipse on Wednesday 12 August 2026!
To mark this event, I’ve written a sestina. As the Poetry Foundation explains, a sestina has six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoi; the end words of the first stanza are repeated in each of the subsequent five stanzas, but in a different (and very specific) order.
When I wrote a sestina on the Trinity, I didn’t quite get the order right, but this time I have!
This poem takes its title from Genesis 1, where on the fourth day of creation we are told that God created the two great lights — one to rule the day and one to rule the night. These are, of course, the sun and moon. We now know the moon doesn’t emit visible light, it just reflects the sun, but don’t let that get in the way of enjoying the creation narrative.
So this poem starts in Genesis and then talks about how the sun is so bright we can’t really see the sky during the day. Then it goes onto the heliocentric (sun-centred) orbital paths of the earth and moon. Stanzas 3, 4 and 5 are about how solar eclipses happen. (The sun’s corona is its atmosphere, which we can only see from earth during a solar eclipse. The word “corona” literally means “crown”.) Stanza 6 is of course all about general relativity, because it was only during a solar eclipse that scientists were able to measure Einstein’s predictions about how massive objects bend the path of light. And the envoi is a short prayer.
Enjoy!
Edited to add: I’ve made a printable PDF that introduces the poem and that Christians believe in God as a the good creator of the universe. This PDF can be printed and shared (and scribbled on!) by anyone who wants to share their faith with a friend or neighbour.
To get the best use of it: print it landscape, double-sided (along short edge). Then fold it twice; with the poem side facing upwards, fold in the right third (there is a little grey mark to help you fold it to the right place) and then fold in the left third. Once done, the front of the bi-fold front should be “A poem to celebrate the solar eclipse”.
You can download the file here.
The Two Great Lights
In the beginning, God spoke light,
Dividing darkness, lifting sky;
He taught the rivers each their path
And sculpted lands upon the Earth;
He called forth plants for fruit and shade,
Curating days with moon and sun.
The brilliance of the daytime sun
Conceals mysteries with light;
But when the world rotates to shade
And stars reveal the depth of sky,
We catch the light that touches Earth,
Trace back along its ancient path.
Each constellation knows its path
And Earth’s is bound around the sun,
Moon tilts its plane around the Earth
Reflecting sun with crescent light.
Yet when these three align, the sky –
Despite the sun – is dark with shade.
The umbra and penumbra shade!
Moon races Earth on eastward path,
We glimpse the stars of daytime sky,
The solar crown around the sun.
Then cratered moon gives diamond light,
Dawn breaks again upon the Earth.
And when the moon is far from Earth,
A ring of gold surrounds its shade.
How varied are the ways of light
Upon our moon’s elliptic path!
Where undulating rays of sun
Reveal the secrets of the sky.
How much we want to watch the sky
From this our non-inertial Earth,
To see space bend around the sun,
To understand galactic shade!
Propelled by time along our path,
We reach for never-fading light.
Lord God of light, you have no shade,
Direct our path on this small Earth,
And watch our sun, stars, moon and sky.
Photo by Tato Lopez on Unsplash