Last night, when I took the dogs out, I was surprised that it was so dark. The moon should have been lighting up the yard as brightly as a cool sun.

I didn’t know until that moment that I was seeing a lunar eclipse. The moon was partly blocked and yet the sky was completely clear of clouds. The shape that darkened out the moon resembled the rounded top of the earth blocking out the sun that had just set behind me a few hours earlier.

I hurried back into the house to get the camera and clumsily took a few photos.

Much later in the evening, the moon was back to normal, shining reflected sunlight from its full, beaming face.

“Hey Sunshine!” called the moon one day,

“It’s time for you to leave.

Romantic lovers always say,

In moonlight they believe.

They do not need your heat, Old Man,

They’re hot enough alone.

My light is better, and it can

Inspire a kiss and moan.”

“Ah, you know nothing, Loony One,

My rays bring winter thaws,

The people crave my  warmth and fun,

They love me without pause.

I bring them light the whole day long,

It’s easier to see,

I brighten spirits into song,

And I know they love ME.”

“That’s nonsense, my dear Sunnyboy,

What garbage you can spew,

I light the night, I won’t be coy,

I’m simply better than you.”

“But, Loony, don’t you understand,

You’re nothing, can’t you see?

By day or night, it’s my command,

The light all comes from me.”

“So prove it,” Loony smugly cried,

“You’ll never shine at night.”

“That’s fine,” the sun said, “I’ll abide,

I have no need to fight.”

The sun then hid behind the earth,

And waited out of sight.

The moon, eclipsed, had lost his worth,

When he was without light.

The moon no longer talks so big,

He wanly glides afar,

The sun just smiles and does a jig,

He’s, after all, a star.