I gaze into the sky striving to focus,
Adjusting diaphragms, brown irises,
Contracting pupils searching for depth,
Capturing light through eager lenses
My sole optical instrument my eyes.
Piercing atmosphere to see beyond,
Crossing layers through flocks of gulls
Condensation trails left by drumming planes
Clouds of white and grey, countless shades
Scrutinising their size and shape, imagining
Their intangible soft texture, cotton wool,
Collecting water vapours from the lands
I see them rise I know the maths behind
Their motion, further afar are weather balloons
Sounding rockets for curious humans to explore,
Sprites releasing electricity until I reach higher
Notice the distant sparkle of man-made satellites,
Light buoys in abyssal dark oceans, indicating
Direction I slowly drift, into outer space
Foreshortening stars to my fantasy closer
To me than they will ever be.
I contemplate and retrieve, zoom out
To a wide angle changing perspective, a puzzle
Complete, I decipher its articulation,
The natural language of all that exists,
I suddenly seem to grasp it, visualise the invisible
Functions of solar irradiance, spot the elements
Contributing to albedos, observe the enticing game
Of scatterings reflections and absorptions,
Until I feel it on my skin, that which my naked eyes
Alone won’t perceive, the meticulous balance,
The harmonic orchestration, the elegant notes
Of energy flowing to and fro,
Our tiny fragile planet Earth and me within.
[Featured artwork: The Phenomenon of Floating by Rob Gonsalves]