Published: Monday, November 30 -0001 00:00

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Stand in the cold of a Winter Night.
Breathe the air, crisp with ice, its sweetness
bitter to the tongue
and feel the breeze,
so delicate to the touch, as it slips by effortlessly
beneath your fingertips.

 

And listen to the phantom murmur of the wind,
the voice of a calmed spirit,
as it whispers in your ears.
And see the yellow resplendence of a waning Sun
fade into land's end
as the black cloak of evening slowly conceals the valley,
heralding the end of another day.

Look up and wonder at the sea,
filled with blazing points of fire.
Like flickering candles of old,
they mark the reign of infinity,
their wax streaming from horizon to horizon.
Glistening crystals and diamonds of every hue,
scattered in eerie mists and clouds of dust,
they sparkle like coins in water
lit by the gentle radiance of the Moon.
Look up and admire, for these are your riches.

The millions cast their light toward Earth,
shining boldly against the silence of the dark,
as if calling for the undivided attention
of creatures lost and curious.
With loyalty and consistency,
they take their places, night after night,
upon the great stage of the universe.
The ancient sages, once in years past,
shared the same stars.

Look across the void,
into the vastness of space.
During the course of time,
and a moment's will,
dreams unfold before seeking eyes.
Dreams, in a mere second of thought,
so very real,
capture the mind still.

"Oh Pilgrim of the night,
how you lament the darkness,
a wall so bleak and staring, cold and empty.
Your cries echo through its midst,
through lost years.
You shall wail no more."

"I give you the stars and their seed;
throw them among the endless,
and they shall ascend from its depths.
Arise!  Arise!
Seek your destiny and rejoice in the music
of my soul"

     "Starlight, star bright,
           first star I see tonight. . . "

Blaze forth they, awakening the world
in every distant country, in every bright city,
singing voices from afar; clearly heard by all,
misunderstood by none.
Countless numbers stagger your imagination,
await ages yet to be.

For they shall stand
where you now upon this Earth walk,
and they, too, will glance skyward.
You are witness to a life -
the cosmos -
unfolding, expanding, racing away to the farthest reaches
of wherever the end may never be;
The universe... a living tapestry of mysterious, nay divine, creation.

Stand in the serenity of that now which
surrounds you, and let your mind wander,
and be content,
For while all things that come, and all things that leave
there will always be stars in the evening sky,
as surely a rainbow follows the storm,
for the heavens declare the glory of Winter Night.


--by Michael Carter, 1981
Nevada City, California, United States