Bob Eklund
- Published: Wednesday, March 21 2012 07:00
Molecules of air
Scatter blue and pass the red
For tonight’s sunset.
This pink first sunset
Of Spring two thousand and twelve
Looks toward forever…
As the dusk deepens,
A googol of galaxies
Penetrating through.
Notes:
1. Air molecules interact with light waves in such a way as to scatter the blue wavelengths (making the sky blue) and allow the red side of the spectrum to pass through more easily. At sunrise and sunset the sunlight passes through a great thickness of air, allowing only the red rays to get through.
2. A googol (not Google, the search engine) is a very large number—ten to the 100th power.
3. For the third verse of this 3-haiku set, I am indebted to the celebrated Japanese poet Seshi Yamaguchi. His poem reads: “In the afterglow/Ten trillion miles of heaven/Penetrating through” Ten trillion miles is traditionally the distance to the Pure Land/Paradise of Amida Buddhism.
