3:15 Experiment Poetry: whether we notice it or not (meteor shower)

Poetry from the 3:15 Experiment:
August 13, 2010 Pumice Flat Campground,
Reds Meadow, CA

The rush of the river
comes & goes in my consciousness
comes & goes downstream
uniting the mountains & the sea

We’re sleeping in the pines
beside it & above us
shooting stars unite
heaven & earth.

I wake the small boy.
It is a dark night
the sliver of moon
long ago gone

All the other campers at Pumice Flat
long ago gone to bed too.

It is dark
and it is quiet
from human intrusions

The rivers flow unimpeded
the stars light shines
w/o competition from human sources.

I wake the small boy
help him put on a hat
a jacket, his father’s Ugg boots.

Barelegged, we slide the van door open
and step outside into the
loud glittering darkness.

“Oh wow,” he says. “The sky sparkles.”

Moments earlier, when I was out by myself
a meteor streaked the sky leaving a bright trail
& we pan the heavens for more. He pees
his head craned back.
My headlamp almost falls off.

We lean into each other
balance & warmth, our chins
skyward. We spy small ones
but nothing more spectacular
than the stars & the planets
their every day majesty
gracing our view in a way
we forget about most days & nights.

The snow melts, collects, flows
the bees & beetles pollinate
the hillsides of lupine & penstamons
the pines sway in the breeze
the stars fill the sky
whether we notice it or not
so much better for us
if we do

c. Gwendolyn Alley

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