Back to country nights

City living doesn’t allow
Star gazing in soft darkness.
Remembering nights
Long gone.
Back to childhood,
Back to inky stretches of country night,
Illuminated by stars, planets, Milky Way, aurora borealis, moon.
Night time was energizing, inspiring, quiet, safe.

At least there are the moon, isolated planet, sporadic star
In city living.
Night is not quiet or safe,
Streetlights fail to energize, inspire.
They illuminate trash, traffic, poverty, danger,
Carelessness, murder, guns, knives.
They shine in through shaded windows,
Robbing sleep.

Sometimes near silence in predawn hours,
Outside, breathing deep, longing for
Thunderstorms, electrifying natural light
Drowning out manmade noise
Night or day.
Soon comes thunder,
Reverberating throughout city and country,
Powerful, enlightening, soothing, sometimes dangerous.

City noise drowned out,
Whipping winds, relentless rains, crackling light.
Back to childhood,
Thunderstorms rolling in over Rocky Mountains,
Enthralling, awesome, cleansing.
Don’t know if I’ll stay in city living,
Move coming up; want of a garden, tranquility, natural night lights.

Maybe it’s time to leave city living.