I.
To celebrate the return of light
20 pairs of boots crunch an ice-strewn trail.
I detour to a viewing platform
where the night sky’s stars compete with orange glows
from the air force base to the south
and mall to the north,
still darker than my bedroom
where half a dozen LEDs assault my dreams.
As the sound of others fades
my breathing slows. Imperfect darkness envelopes me
along with the other night creatures hidden by its veil.
II.
I have come here for respite:
to reclaim perspective in a universe
where science and wisdom are no longer valued,
to escape talking heads who pontificate ceaselessly
on screens large and small,
generating more heat than enlightenment
while I remain bewildered in darkness.
III.
Far from here,
where darkness lies most dense
constellations are subsumed into the astral myriad.
On a remote Sawtooth slope
a solitary cougar pauses her pursuit
of a trembling snowshoe hare to look skyward
where meteors rain fiery scratches
against galactic night.
READ MORE
The dark side of light: How artificial light is harming the natural world [Nature]
Brief: 5G Internet is the next big thing in light pollution [Inside Science]
A former journalist, Marianne Gambaro’s poems have been published in several print and on-line journals including The Aurorean, Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poems, Naugatuck River Review, Oberon Poetry, The Copperfield Review, Parody and Pirene’s Fountain. Her upcoming chapbook, Do NOT Stop for Hitchhikers, will be published by Finishing Line Press in early 2018. She is a member of the Florence (MA) Poets Society and resides in Belchertown, MA, with her talented photographer husband and three feline critics.
Photo by Joshua Sortino.
