Raining Stars
It’s raining stars tonight,
Fiery arrows piercing the
Ebon velvet canopy -
One, three, six together,
A hail of streaking fire
Pouring out of the sky
In a flash, and gone
Almost before the eye can see,
Almost before the heart can thrill.
Some faint in the distance,
Some green, some red, some orange,
Most plummeting toward the horizon,
Some rare rogues rising into heaven,
Punctuated with the occasional
Extended blaze of a close one
Bursting out of existence
In brilliant, silent exclamation,
As the heart on the ground
Overflows with unbearable joy.
Tonight, with each dying star,
With the rain of light in the eye,
There is nothing to do but rejoice,
Nothing to do but give thanks,
Witness to the celestial spectacle.
As the sky glows orange in the east,
As the stars fade and the sky hints at blue,
The last, incredible in its beauty, slices cleanly
Through Orion’s belt, like a Gift.
© 2001, C. Leigh Nic Fhionghaile
