The Comet

A desert landscape at sunset with the heavens shining above; one of those transcendent moments in life when you are in awe of your physical environment. It was a moment of escape from the ordinary, of our joy in the landscape and a sense of overwhelming wonder of our place in the universe. Oh, and I did get to photograph a comet! In a word, the experience was sublime!

Slowly, the setting sun unveils the stars in the blue black sky.

A soft orange yellow glow blankets the distant horizon.

The warm desert air begins to cool and dark shapes loom

As the night descends. Prairie dogs and rattlesnakes have

Retreated to their dens. But somewhere, near or far, the

Coyotes wail against the night to keep us company

Among the rocks and sage.

Sufficiently dark, the moment has come.

We lift our gaze in silent prayer under this heavenly dome.

To the east, the Milky Way begins to glow, But there

In the northwest, among the points of light that dip,

The sign we have come to see.

A long brush of light with a tail fading fast,

Fingers point, the shutter clicks, as NEOWISE speeds away.

A transcendent moment as we come to feel the stardust

In us all. A brief visit to this troubled rock,

Hidden in a corner of this vast universe.

Still, a welcome respite from all that troubles our souls.

Another six thousand years, they say,

Before it swings back this way.

But I am left to wonder when,

If human eyes will be here to greet it then!