Tuesday 13 August 2013

PERSEIDS SHOWER

Photographer: Jonathan S. McElvery

It is well past midnight and the show has begun. But it is not what I expected. I imagined a dramatic, turbulent sky. A violent burst. A shooting, I suppose - they call them 'shooting stars'.
But it is an unhurried ballet. A gentle arc flung now and then, across a small portion of the southern pocket of sky above the farm.
I come and go, with hot cups of tea and chocolate biscuits and my thick plaid sofa shawl. I sit on the bench and don't mind the sensor switching on when moths flutter by.
I crunch across the gravel and stand head tilted back, making my wishes, praying for the well being of those I love and wrap the blanket tighter as I think in turn of other eyes watching such nights of diamond stars. Other eyes in war time, from deep within trenches, or watching the Titanic sinking into glacial waters... do you ever find yourself imagining you are a soldier or a survivor? And then catch yourself in the thankful realisation that you are quietly safe, and yet it's all so close, isn't it? We brush up against each other's lives, in fiction, in memoir, in poems, in accidental stories shared on planes, buses, in hospitals.
Photography: National Geographic.com

And I feel neither small nor insignificant with a world of stars looking down on me. They are the most benevolent of spirits because they allow us to see them from time to time, and there is so much we cannot see, or choose not to see. When I see stars, I think of myself at five in the crook of my father's arms, wondering, questioning, and discovering faith.


'You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them... In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night... You - only you - will have stars that can laugh.' - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Le Petit Prince 

16 comments:

Cloudia said...

You shine like a happy star:-)


Aloha

Mary Helen-Art Saves Lives said...

I feel we communicate with those we have loved during these Perseid Meteor Showers...I was out on my front deck laying on my bench to study the wonderful night show! Peace be with you, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

Infinite Riches said...

Well, Shaista. You mentioned you hadn't see any comments from me on your blog for ages. Which, I explained it because I struggle to read now, especially on the old 'intra-web'! And also because I struggle with my words as a result of my crazy, horrid illness.
However, I have started coming over again to take a wee peek here. And just spotted this one now. I didn't know there was a meteor shower last night :( Am gutted as my insomnia is so bad these days that I'm guaranteed to be awake all night, every night and it would have been lovely to have felt I could do something cool because of it!! But you've captured it here for me, so thank you. And quoting le petit prince - such happy memories of that special book.
I have seen a shooting star but once, as a 10-year-old child, from the back of the car whilst dad was driving us home from my late Grandma's house. It was Christmas time and I have never forgotten it!

Anyway, I'm now waffling so I shall bonne nuit... Love, KTD xox

Sherry Blue Sky said...

How lovely, and what a beautiful quote about the stars laughing. I read that book to my grandson when he was small and lived with me and it made a deep impression.

Luffina29 said...

Nice blog :)
I think that you have really sensitive soul :)
Greetings :)

http://hs-storia.blogspot.com/
http://luffina29.blogspot.com/

PS- I like 'perseids' too, but unfortunately, I've never seen them ;(
Nice to meet you :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful feeling

Anonymous said...

Dear Shaista,

Your posts never fail to brighten my day.

I do hope you are well and finding treasures to brighten yours.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

How are you, kiddo? Going through treatment? I am thinking of you and will be happy when your name shows up on the blogroll again....take good care, my friend.

Elizabeth J. Neal said...

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Unknown said...

The starry sky gives me the thought of eternity. It was, is and will be, while the people and the creation of his short-lived. Starry sky keeps the secrets of the universe, many of which have not yet been studied, and the further we go into the study of its mysteries and puzzles, the more and more we find issues.

Often I remember my father, when I was a little girl, showed me the constellations and telling about them. So many different ideas about the sky and celestial bodies in history, so many myths and legends associated with them!

Along with all of this come some romantic notions ... Often I imagine a meadow on the banks of a small river, small campfire, a huge full moon, which seems so close that it seems possible to touch her ... usually in these moments comes a sense of peace , happiness and peace ...
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