Haven – An Autumn Night.
Evening, cool and clear, the autumn night sky is full of stars, a river of light crossing the evening heavens, a bridge that extends to all points of the night’s horizon.
As the evening deepens the night sky becomes even brighter, shining planets rise and set, constellations move across the sky. Listen carefully; it is almost possible to hear the crackle of blue starlight. Standing here looking up into the immensity of the cosmos it is surprising how familiar it all seems. It is like the eons of time that span the universe, are somehow written into the DNA of who and what we are.
The moon rises into the cloudless night sky illuminating the road home, casting mysterious slant shadows of unexpected shapes, on the way ahead. Is it only in a cloudless autumn night sky like this that the moon becomes so large and bright? Only now, when the hazy warmth of summer has gone, can we appreciate the brightness of the moon’s silvery light which leave’s its reflection upon the quiet waters of the White Cart.
Walking along a dark path late at night, the way is lit by a bright and full moon. Looking up the sky is filled with stars, a sight that is obscured by the harsh glare of street lighting beyond the boundary of this quiet haven. But within it is different; dark, bright and clear, one senses the vastness of the cosmos stretching out to the boundaries of infinity.
night of stars and moon –
what a spacious sky
what grandness
Shokaku
Tr. Stephen Addiss
Thanks to Bernie for these lovely photos:
