Black Swifts Don’t Favor the Eclipse

a silver orb in a brief game

of hide and seek with earth,

ducking behind the planet

like a shy friend we just met

quickly borrows a red scarf

from the cosmos for blushes

peeks out, turns the sterling

glow to a crimson mask turning

a favored party trick, then steps

back into the spotlight aglow

— the night flips a switch,

Black Swifts fall from the sky.