She’s visible on the longest day,
Venus a bright white jewel
winking in summer-blue sky,

a pearl earring that requires
us to squint in a what-is-that?
daytime moment.

And once the sun reluctantly
steps offstage, that show-off
Venus really beams

in the spotlight, obscuring
tiny Mars shining feebly at
her upper left.

But, not to be outdone,
the wafer thin crescent moon
waxes celestial north

of Venus and Mars, a cosmic
triangle to end this solstice
day, one that

blessedly seems never
to end in our little corner
of Earth, as splendid

a day as we can imagine,
perfectly content to rest
right where we are.