The purpose begins to be explained, right from the beginning. “December / the planets perfectly rehearsed” (2, 3). This is a metaphor for boys practicing hockey, preparing for the big game. The “earth’s shadow cast against the night sky / like the outline of a hand projected / onto a screen” (4, 5, 6). The mention of a screen refers to watching hockey on television and preparing to perform yourself. Nothing is quite like preparing for something that you’re devoted to. “A friend and her teenage daughters” (9) is a metaphor for “A friend and his teenage boys. The author tries to emphasize the relation between a woman’s love for astronomy and a mans love for hockey. There is gravity that’s involved in both. Whether ther
. . .
The puck draws them, as the moon similarly draws the woman in the poem. The cold night air, ensures that both the women in the backyard, and (I imagine) in the case of the boys out on their ice rink would both have to be “wrapped in scarves and thick coats” (13) to keep warm. This is what the author is trying to put across.
Similarly, there is no logical reason why the women are drawn to the lunar eclipse. It’s the spirit in them, their love for hockey, they will feel it go through them when it is time to act. “[The] tide cycles through them” (22) refers to the feeling the girls get, when the cycle of the moon is at the stage of the eclipse. There’s a charisma to life that almost always makes this true. For the boys, there’s a similar feeling. For the boys? When each player does their part, everything lines up, and just as the poem says “the moon moves clear/ into the night sky” (26, 27). For the female and her teenage daughters, the moon is what draws them. The planets alignment corresponds to the boys waiting for “just the right time” to make a good play. But the moon is a metaphor for the puck, and the game in general.
Approximate Word count =
491
Approximate Pages =
2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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