June 13: Under the Skylight
Kristen Lindquist
Last night I stayed at a friend's house in a guest bedroom with a skylight. After margaritas, a late dinner, Moroccan rosebud tea, and much talking into the wee hours, I retired to my loft under the stars. The clarity with which I could see the vast clusters of bright stars made me realize how different--how utterly profound and amazing--the night sky can look in a place with no light pollution. There were so many stars swarming in my field of vision that I couldn't even pick out constellations, but just let my eyes enjoy the spectacle above me. A little later, as I was drifting off to sleep, the call of a loon drifted in from a nearby pond. I fell asleep feeling blessed by these things, and even more so when I awoke this morning to hear hermit thrushes singing in the woods just outside my room, and off in the distance, the cries of ospreys fishing in Somes Sound.
Loon calls in the night.
I sway in sleep's open arms
watched over by stars.