Ring of Fire

On the first morning of the Fire Horse year,
an annular eclipse crosses the sky.

The moon slides in front of the sun
but cannot cover it completely —
a ring of fire hangs in the atmosphere
like a halo that refused to be dimmed.

This is the astronomy of ambition:
even when something stands in your way,
the light finds the edges.

I think about the people
who waited for perfect conditions.
Who said next year so many times
that next year became a decade.

The eclipse lasts four minutes.
The Fire Horse lasts twelve months.
Neither of them will wait for you
to finish overthinking.

There is a Vietnamese word — xông đất —
the first foot through the door
on the first morning of the new year.
It sets the fortune for everything that follows.

Be your own first visitor.
Walk through your own door.
Set your own fortune.

The ring of fire doesn't ask
if you're ready.
It appears —
and for four minutes,
the entire sky is a doorway.

Step through.

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— FrankX, February 2026