Good Night Moon

As I do every night, I stepped out onto the deck to whisper down to the boys in the dry lot my wishes for a good night sleep, safety and good health.  While much of the country is suffering frigid temperatures, it's 45 degrees here at midnight.

The patchy clouds are doing their best to obscure the waxing moon; determined, she'll have none of that.  The storms from the Pacific Northwest are blowing across, committed to a duel with the Cascades; maybe they make it over the mountains to bring us moisture on the eastern side, maybe they don't.

Staring up to find the roadway of millions of stars called the Milky Way, I was mesmerized by the constellation Orion as it appeared to be drifting, detaching from its place high in the southern sky this time of night.  The sky started rotating, twirling, floating.  The satellites in orbit joined in the play, steadily moving in one direction while the billowy clouds moved opposite.

Unplugged.

Cleanse

For the past few days we've had heavy air in and out coming from the wild fires burning.  The mornings have been especially thick and fortunately as the days wore on, the air would lighten up.  The presence of an undeniable lingering cloak not be ignored.

Today we had a thunderstorm roll through; it rained a bit.  The air shifted.

Much later tonight, the earth smelled rich with moisture.  It seems to have rained again.

They talk about the skies opening up in a storm.  They certainly did--straight to the heavens!  The sky is crystal clear.

The Milky Way is streaming directly overhead.  There are those stars that are so close, they can almost be reached by a determined finger.  And behind those stars is another layer, just beyond reach.  And when setting aside all expectations of the night sky, letting the corners of the eyes be wide, that deepest layer of stars that just begins to lead far into the solar system appears.

Try to hold a finger up and find a space that wide between stars and planets.  Impossible tonight.

There are twinklers, winkers, color changers and the ever steady.

Diving into the window of mystery, the shooting stars are reminders that nothing stays the same.


Dedicated to Max.  May she always be safe.

Celestial Wardrobe

Tonight's moonless sky

 like a rhinestone-studded

soft

black satin dress

 adorned

with a blazing sash

of the spiral Milky Way

no beginning

and

no end.