September 25: Sleeping on an island

Under the Milky Way

I walk slowly home

happy and unafraid.

 

Posted with Blogsy

August 8: River of Heaven

Night of falling stars--

how sad the Milky Way

still separates the lovers.

 

Although a month late by traditional reckoning, last night while we were in the backyard watching for falling stars from the Perseid meteor shower, I was thinking about Tanabata. This Japanese festival (also celebrated for centuries in China and Korea) celebrates the one night each year that two lovers, normally kept apart by the Milky Way, are allowed to meet. The two lovers--a weaver and a cowherd--are symbolized by the two bright stars Altair and Vega, visible last night directly over our house on either side of the Milky Way.

 

In this drought

the River of Heaven's low enough

for lovers to cross.

 

Posted with Blogsy

October 21: Late last night

Coming home last night from a late dinner with a friend, I was surprised to get out of my car into a summer evening. When I had left the office for an event that afternoon, the rain had just stopped and clouds were beginning to blow away eastward, revealing patches of blue sky. It wasn't until I saw the night sky at 9:45 p.m., however, that I realized what a change had taken place. Thanks to the streetlight in front of our house still being out, the view from my front lawn was beautiful: to the east, Jupiter hanging brightly over the shoulder of Mount Battie, the Pleiades a hazy cluster nearby; to the west, Milky Way running right over our roof. A warm breeze blew, shuffling the leaves on the lawn, and for a few moments I just looked up in awe. Then I unlocked the door, turned on the porch light, and said goodnight to the stars.

Easy to forget
while it's raining: all those stars,
Milky Way's bright path.