Mercuria
by Miri Morley Ross
Wanting is a carnal act that knows how to take me apart
Here I sit, summoning a storm that dashes me against the shore to splinter
I recognize myself in the feel in my bones of the strangling fig that snaked its way into my spine
but no longer see myself in the words I used to have memorized
the bitter love for a vanished girl thick as honey in my throat
The mirror says this:
she holds a pomegranate with one hand, a bleeding gemstone world
she looks as old as she always has (as young as she ever will)
dirt on her soles dirt in her soul
and a silver-black knife at her hip
I know the moon loves me—she told me so, and named me her infinite child
I know the sun loves me—he told me so as I bit back the screams while he filed down my teeth
I know the gods love me. They pulled the stars down and laid them as gifts at my feet
I tasted the fruit. I buried my love in the sand and forgot where it lay
The seeds on my tongue were ashes before long, burnt black in the fire of my breath
I’ll wander the desert for thirteen more years
in search of the worlds of the gods that I lost
in search of the seeds and the fruit and my heart and the shipwreck that swallowed me whole
Editor’s Note
We are honored to feature Miri Morley Ross’s Mercuria as Eclipse’s very first Piece of the Month. This poem stood out immediately—not just for its evocative language, but for its presence. Ross was the only submitter who sent us just one piece. Most submitters (as encouraged) sent three or four. But she submitted only this. And it was more than enough.
The title, Mercuria, evokes the Roman God Mercurius—a messenger between realms, like the Greek Hermes. While the poem isn’t a literal retelling of myth, it channels that same energy: a figure who moves between worlds, who once felt divine, but now wanders through longing, memory, and loss.
This type of work, that can draw out such targeted, intense emotion, was exactly what I imagined when I created this magazine. Eclipse was created to honor and uplift art that can move its consumers. Mercuria does just that, and we’re proud to share it with you as the beginning of this new tradition.
Keep creating, Miri, and we are so honored to publish your work.
With love,
Layla Zaatreh