Aurora

Seven miles north along the shoulder
You will find the right spot.
The pavement ends at six miles,
keep going though the road is rutted.

Watch the sky as you drive,
Take measure of the ambient light
From farm houses and street lights
Few though they are on the way.

You have arrived at the seventh mile
just as I did, when the north star is bright
As are the rest of the Little Dipper's handle,
And those of its bigger companion.

Shut off your headlights,
And step out of the car.
Look up and away to the north,
above where the road continues into
The formless dark ahead.

Millions of miles away, the sun
Threw a tantrum, flinging energy
far away in wide arcs across space,
To that place above the horizon,
Seven miles north from here.

Shimmering curtains undulate,
gossamer wisps of electrons
offer evidence of a solar storm.
The universe shrinks to the reach
Of your eyesight at seven miles north.

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Copyright 2015 Femme Malheureuse

Photo: Joshua R. Nichols via Flickr