Have a read of my poem ‘What Happened to the Sun‘ first published in Quadrant Magazine. ‘What Happened to the Sun‘ is one of the poems in my debut poetry collection ‘The Cellist, a Bellydancer & Other Distractions‘ (Ginninderra Press).

I hope you enjoy it.

What Happened to the Sun:

We took that hot ball of glowing gases

at the heart of our solar system for granted,

so much intense energy and heat

bearing down on green city spaces

when she went out to walk the dog,

winter warmth brightening her face. Sometimes

under a large red gum she stopped

to watch a mother and son

play cricket or an elderly tennis player

limp towards the courts, ‘No running

today, eh?’ calls out his opponent. ‘I’ll keep

the ball on your forehand.’

Difficult to stay upbeat sometimes

when you see so much change. You

wish for things to be how they were before,

nourished by moon on water,

first stars, mountains, ocean,

a dog pulling on a lead under a bright sky,

beneath a cache of clouds,

wanting the time before,

before polar bears were in danger,

when, ignorantly, you basted your skin

in coconut oil on the hot sand,

before we were all bound by rules,

distanced in unusual ways

burning in the sun side by side

on a crowded beach.

Copyright 2024 Libby Sommer

Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels.com