Shower

I am now lying on the incline of a levee,
and look up in wonderment at the full sky
which seems much larger, more imposing,
as its third dimension pulls me deeper in.

I am far away from the modern city sky
the constant blinding by light pollution,
away from the high buildings that block
and slice the sky in many assorted angles.

Here, the sound of the mighty Mississippi
drifts on the stilled and syrupy night air,
and the fireflies, quite beautiful at dusk,
are no longer bright masters of the night.

All the stars above are so very numerous
they seem reluctant to allow dark spaces
in between; only the milky way succeeds
to splash its full will against the night sky.

...then suddenly, a fantastic show begins;
across the sky a flash traces a curvature
and before it is fully gone another begins,
that soon I am turning my head all around.

Childlike, with eyes that know immanence,
(before learning words to represent fact)
the electricity of innocence, and of wonder,
takes hold of me, inhibitions have flown.

Such joy, joy, O the wonder of the heavens
as falling stars criss cross, and flash across
this bowl-like sky, that fills to the horizon
to rim-light benediction on a waiting earth.

Now my childlike heart will not be restrained
as she leaps up to touch, be one with mystery;
a pulse racing through her that denies all words
which would call this wonder a shower of dust.