The City Night Sky

I’m a city boy,
born and raised in Macon, Georgia,
now living in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Every night past midnight,
I walk with my Corgi.
While he tracks nose-down,
I look up at the night sky.

All the stars twinkling away
against their muted black backdrop
give rise in me thoughts of
my insignificance as I marvel
at the vastness of the night sky…
so many thousands of visible stars.
I enjoy this quiet time of wonderment
that my dog and I share nightly,
but the city night sky is an imposter.

My wife and I happened to be
visiting her country aunt last week,
staying well after dark.
The country night sky is a totally
different phenomenon than a city sky.
The country night sky has a richer,
deeper, coal-black background more like
black velvet, and the stars! Millions
of stars filling all the spaces between
the stars apparent in the city night sky.
I stood looking up in awe at the sight.

The city night sky is a pale, pathetic
version of the country night sky.
Lights from the city wash out the details
so that the night sky I am accustomed
to seeing all my life is like seeing
the true night sky through cataract eyes.
I wonder what else in our lives do
we all experience in as diluted form
as city dwellers do the night sky,
accepting it unaware of the beauty
and splendor that go unseen nightly.