Wednesday 19 May 2010

OUR SHARE OF NIGHT


“One summer night, out on a flat headland, all but surrounded by the waters of the bay, the horizons were remote and distant rims on the edge of space. Millions of stars blazed in darkness, and on the far shore a few lights burned in cottages. Otherwise there was no reminder of human life.  My companion and I were alone with the stars: the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright and clear, a blazing planet low on the horizon. It occurred to me that if this were a sight that could be seen only once in a century, this little headland would be thronged with spectators. But it can be see many scores of nights in any year, and so the lights burned in the cottages and the inhabitants probably gave not a thought to the beauty overhead; and because they could see it almost any night, perhaps they never will.” - Rachel Carson


A short blog today as I have been very busy all day and tonight I had a function on that meant I was up and around from 5:30 am to 11:30 pm with hardly a break.

Our Share of Night


Our share of night to bear,
Our share of morning,
Our blank in bliss to fill,
Our blank in scorning.

Here a star, and there a star,
Some lose their way.
Here a mist, and there a mist,
Afterwards - day!

            Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886)

1 comment:

  1. I love this poem of Emily's and I also like the Van Gogh painting you have used as a backdrop. The poem is a delicate miniature that hides so many great things in its smallness.

    ReplyDelete