Nocturnal Creature
Sept 6 2010


I am nocturnal, by nature.
Hard-wired, I’ve always claimed.

Sometimes, though, I’m still awake
to see the sun come up.
To see black night
turn indigo,
the horizon blush red.
And flat shadows
take on depth,
begin to look familiar again
Then, to bed,
as the diurnal world
carries on its business.

But after dark
it’s as if the top was lifted;
this hot-house earth
given a glimpse
of vast unknowable space.

As I keep watch
fainter stars appear,
take me out even deeper
back further in time.
And the Milky Way
in the incomprehensible distance;
and yet, we’re a part,
a minor system
in an unremarkable arm.
Then the red planet, the warrior god
moving fast
against the background of stars.
As a satellite goes blinking past,
in constant free-fall
in its long predictable arc.
And a shooting star,
a piece of dust, burning up
that looks as big as galaxies.

Until the full moon rises,
filling the yard
with its ghostly light,
blocking the heavens from sight.
Our planet’s fellow traveller,
a lifeless rock
in a tightly linked dance
of gravity and tides,
of romance, and sleepless nights;
this familiar celestial object
we find so reassuringly constant.
Here, in near space,
where we once flattered ourselves
we were the center of attention,
instead of outer space
just an inconsequential speck.

On cloudy nights, of course
we are alone,
an impoverished cosmos
of one.
When the surface of earth is everything,
and nocturnal creatures like me
have no reason to dream.



I wanted to write about the night sky. Because we've had some beautiful clear nights lately. And because these views make me feel privileged: light pollution prevents most people from ever seeing such spectacular sights. But I first had to overcome some reluctance. First, because I've written numerous poems like this, and re-visiting the same old stuff gets tired after awhile. And also because these astronomical efforts tend to be purely descriptive, which makes them essentially souless and impersonal. I'm not sure people want to read them; or, if they do, will stick them out to the end. Nevertheless, I gave it a shot ...and this is how it came out. Not quite sure if I succeeded in injecting some soul, or made it very compelling. It has some good bits; but does the whole thing work? So feedback, as always, is most welcome.