Aurora Borealis

Last weekend marked this summer's Perseid Meteor Shower at a time we would be at the cabin and away from city lights. A rare chance to witness wonders of the night sky.

I set my alarm for one hour before sunrise, the best time to view this phenomena, or so I read. But I failed to calculate the length of predawn brightness in the far north, and missed the show yet again.



Aurora Borealis


Once I saw
green lights shimmering
in the northern sky,
great swathes of color
moving to music
played light years away.
Thousands of street lamps
tried but couldn't hide
the exuberance overhead.

Now from a prime seat
in the dark north woods
I keep searching midnight
for these gossamer sheets,
rare as the solar flares
that send them dancing.

Meanwhile,
I settle for stars waltzing
through the Milky Way,
trace comets on the loose.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor