On The Night Sky

When I was a child learning about the Greeks and Romans mapping the stars I used to wonder, ‘who the heck would bother doing that?’ Now I realize. There are parts of the world, away from bright lights and busy nights. And in these places, you don’t keep track of the stars intentionally. You keep track of them without even realizing that you are doing so. They are always there and before you realize you are noticing the differences between one day and the next, one hour and the next. Out on the great dark tracts of Africa, you can’t help following their great play. Watching the characters, the stars, leave their blaze across the sky.