PERSPECTIVE

I love cemeteries. There I said it. And I especially love cemeteries at night.

While thinking about this subject, I am reminded of one late afternoon when Oz and I shared a brisk walk. Dusk had fallen quickly that day, covering us while we were not paying attention, and caught us unawares a good distance from home. In the fleeting of a moment, we found ourselves suspended in a fairyland of old grave markers and statues of Angels. We were in the cemetery.

Noticing that darkness had fallen, we gingerly back-peddled across the gravel walking-paths and I wondered what kind of fate had brought us here. I slowed our pace, and happened to gaze up into the night sky. My breath caught as I slipped into the magic of the night: stars upon stars upon stars. The purple haze of a darkening dusky-sky was gleaming with stardust! Zillions of night-lights glowed in the glory of the Solar System, and I wondered how we must look to the ‘others’. Are there ‘others’ looking up into their night sky, looking at us? Marveling at our wonder?

With no place to sit, and Oz tugging at the lead, I remained steadfast in the marvel of it all. I looked around to see if there were any living souls to share this with, but alas, there were none. I thought, as I looked around the graveyard, is this what you see in the glory of your sleep? Is this what joy befalls you as you lay in wait of night?

A slight breeze picked up the scent of salt from the ocean, wafting it about as it sent a chill through me. Dusk fell into night where we stood, and the slight breeze morphed into a wind. I did not want to leave. For some odd reason I had the feeling that these stars could only be seen from here, above these Angels. I had a silly notion that these stars made their home only above this hallowed ground, and only within the confines of these walls.

I was wrong of course.
Wasn’t I?

                                                         

 
 
 
 
 

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field
PhotoCredit:

NASA/ESA/S. Beckwith(STScI)

and The HUDF Team

Cemetery photo by Angela