"The Midnight Sky and Poetry"



   The sky has always evoked much intensity in people.
The 'midnight sky' just adds to the complexity and mystery.
The image became more powerful to me some years ago
when I was teaching in Louisiana. Jimmy, one of my students, asked
me to explain its impact on my life. That night we decided to pray
outside, circling the grounds, admiring the beauty of the night.
The sky was luminous. Without the glare of street lights, it was as
if we saw it for the first time.
   I remember that midnight with such clarity. I talked about words.
Poetry, I said, explains those yearnings, desires, hopes and dreams.
In the silence of the midnight, the best of words are placed in the
best order. The best connotes union of sound and sense.
This is where my poem emerges and my prayer begins.
The sky seems to capture these sentiments.  Its beauty is astounding.
   According to St. Thomas Aquinas, when the 'best order' strives to
be the best; it is beautiful. And since, beauty has that essential
quality, it strives for perfection. Looking at such incredible
beauty, even for a moment, changes everything. Then the poet reads
his best of words in the best of order and becomes a co-creator.
All become one great 'act of attention.'
   I think it is a gift from the Almighty when such moments happen.
The poet brings us to appreciate everything that is and is holy.
As Hopkins describes, "The world is charged with the grandeur of
God."  When a class can look together at the midnight sky; we see
the world differently. We begin as Thoreau writes: "to live life
deliberately!"  Given those sacred moments, we continue our search
for continued meaning and purpose, the desire for clarification and
the perspective to see luminously with the stars amidst the darkness.