Night Sky

St-Barthélémy d’Agenais

by John Stocks

Four hours from the metropolis
And the city is a whisper
The Dordogne night glistens
And country sky bewilders
With an infinity of stars.

Orion and the Pleiades
Dazzle as the night evolves
‘Guinot bas’, ‘St-Barthélémy’
Fade to formless smudged shadows
The moon soars, bold invigorated.

And this is a sharp reminder
Our consciousness is submerged
Cocooned in glassine cityscapes
Smothering the avowed awe
Of an uncharted universe.

I lie mesmerised, transfixed
A star shooting from the Perseids
Implodes with a startling flourish
Recherché city banality
And smug metropolitan angst
Crumble
To a stardust of humility.