Looking at The Night

By John I. Blair

Each evening late
Far past the time
For finding bed

I take my way
Into the darkness,
Looking at the night.

Although I make excuse
Of checking weather,
Moving sprinklers,

Putting out the trash,
I’m not there for chores;
I think it’s more to tend

What some might call my soul.
I stand still, let my eyes
Adjust to lack of light,

And simply stare . . .
At moon, stars,
Clouds, trees, sky.

I listen to the birds,
The breeze, to autos
On the street nearby.

I think about my life,
The world, the universe
Around me, easier to see

In soothing dimness
Than in the blinding day,
Somehow much more real;

And those moments
Standing in the night alone
Make all else right.

©2014 John I. Blair