-- The Stars Shine Bright --

John Herlihy

Saunders had always been comfortable with solitude

When alone, he always felt it as a kind of plenitude

As a child, he often roamed the nearby woods to see

In the shaded light, how quiet the woods could be

A sense of hush followed the deeper he went inside,

Where it became even darker until the wind had died

Sometimes, in the attic, sunlight streamed thru a window

The loft illuminated the dust motes with a soft glow

The only sound two muffled voices too distant to hear

The silence a kind of companion the solitude to bear

But nothing compares to the solitude found in night sky

Infinitude of space simply raises questions of how and why

Do the stars know of time when they themselves are suns?

Do they care about Math when they have limitless sums?

For now, these questions can be raised on another day.

He checked the cows, closed the barn door, and went away.

He looked again to the night sky to capture one last chance,

To savor that feeling of solitude caught in that single glance.

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(c) John Herlihy 1 May 2019