1. <br />Dark Earth itself's <br />Become a midnight sky, <br />A Void before a world <br />Was ever thought. <br /> <br />Our winged Mother <br />Purrs from deep inside <br />And homes her nose <br />Toward Light, with sight <br />As sure as angels. <br /> <br />Here in her womb, <br />This narrow cave <br />Of lighted, solid ground, <br />We fidget and await our birth. <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />A little galaxy <br />Comes into view below <br />Like fading coals <br />Of memory, <br />Its tiny constellations <br />Straining to be seen. <br /> <br />Almost too dim <br />To pinpoint, <br />A spiral nebula <br />Curls 'round and back <br />Toward some <br />Invisible horizon. <br /> <br />These stars below us <br />Start to multiply. <br />We trace <br />A narrow, spinal cord <br />Of large, bright ganglia. <br /> <br />My recognition <br />Starts to dawn, <br />Like Ancients bringing <br />Language from the night. <br /> <br />Now I can give <br />These constellations names: <br />That one is Highway 70. <br /> <br />We're entering <br />A Milky Way <br />Of such Earth-stars, <br />Too numerous <br />For eyes to sort <br /> <br />Except to know <br />That every star <br />That pulses radiance <br />Beams some node <br />Of human life. <br /> <br />We come down to <br />These endless <br />Possibilities. <br /> <br />Deplaning, I look up. <br />'What then, ' I wonder, <br />'Are those stars above? ' <br /> <br />copyright 2004 by Max Reif<br /><br />Max Reif<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/21-dark-night-sky-passage/
