dutch sky

i wrote this last fall while visiting friends in the netherlands

it was in the wee hours of saturday morning
i was coming back from amsterdam
pounding the brick sidewalks of utrecht
alone, by myself
walking as fast as my heels would let me
home to a friend's apartment
15 minutes walk from the station
it was deserted
no one around except the occasional bicyclist
some fear crept in
i reminded myself how safe this place was
i stayed alert
kept looking to the left and right of me
behind me
i hurried

i was approaching the canal near where he lived
when i realized
all this time
i've been looking everywhere
but up
i forgot to look up
at the night sky
on this uncharacteristically
wonderfully
warm fall night
where no jacket was required
my what a sight
that greeted me
rare in these parts
i knew
famous for perpetual low gray skies
having just endured their rainiest summer
in a hundred years
this was something special

i didn't stop
although she deserved it
i kept my eyes to the sky as i walked
the last stretch home
taking as much of her in as i could
she was glorious as always
in her vast infinite beauty
not a cloud obstructed her view
the stars twinkled at me
i slowed down
suddenly feeling safe
and in no hurry
i made out the big dipper and small dipper
they're the only ones i recognize easily
i noted how the stars seemed a little far
set further in the sky than where i'm from
where i'm from...
where am i from?
where is home?
where do i call home?
where am i going?
sometimes i just don't know anymore

Reviews

[linear]

Well written, you take the reader along with you....a wonderful still night by a canal in Holland's warm fall, a night sky can make us all wonder about life..... :O)