“Me & My Baby View The Eclipse”
pencil, pastel, & watercolor
2024
A very good, long conversation with my friend, Jaki Shelton Green (google her; among other fine things, she’s the wise & extremely powerful poet laureate of North Carolina) led me to finishing this study (I intend for it to end up in a larger, more complex picture) today.
Of course, the eclipse is HAPPENING TODAY(!!!!!!!) NPR is losing its collective shit over the business…..”continuously broadcasting” as the eclipse makes its way from the thatch-roofed long-houses of the Yucatan to the rime-frosted eaves of Santa Claus Land. Or whatever. I couldn’t explain why it matters so little to me. Following the example of the Navajo, the Papuans of Western New Guinea, the Bayads of inner Mongolia, and other indigenous tribes across the globe, I’ve simply brought Morgan, my microwaved-lunch, and a load of just-washed whites (the clothing type) into this hut’s bedroom. I plan to eat my lunch, fold a lot of undershirts, and go to sleep. Presumably, the lights will all be back on when I wake around 6 pm or so.
As for the title?….I stole it from yet another friend/neighbor of mine, the very fine (And wildly funny) writer, Lee Smith. I doubt that she’ll mind.