“Night Reflections” – Dimitri Otis
Standing on the wilderness edge
of this mighty ocean
a night breeze
snatches a paper from my hand
looking up
into crystalline clarity
I gasp
perfectly cloudless night sky
how vast this cosmos
how breathtakingly endless
how stupidly small — humans
making war beneath infinity
*
rob kistner © 2022
More poetry at:dVerse
Ohhhh. Those last lines are just too gorgeous, and all too true.
Thank you De. I was seeking a poetically gentle way to be morose. Fucking damn warring humans!
Below the stars, our disasters seem quite petty… great thoughts
Isn’t it true. Sad about human stupidity. Thank you Bjorn.
Well said. I wonder if this “Conflict” enflames WWIII, how deep will this tragedy go? I have been on that beach staring into the vastness of a night sky; humbling.
Glenn, I have wondered, and hoped all my life, that humans would truly wake up to our true place in the cosmos, to the beauty of our insignificance, in the power of the true big picture. That we have been included in this mind boggling experience, that we don’t have to rule the world, that it’s a magnificent garden for us to help tend, to nurture and be nurtured by — and in so realizing, that we might find humility, gratitude, and love! But all we seem to find is fear, greed, anger, hatred, war — fucking stupid human arrogance. I truly don’t get it? The more we expand and elevate our capabilities, the less able we are to be sane. It is a mystery inside an enigma, wrapped in a fatal contradiction. Oh well, maybe the planet and it’s microorganisms will kill us off before we kill each other off. It would feel karmatically balanced to me, if that turns out to be the case.
Now that puts human foolishness in perspective! Good one, Rob.
Thank you Lynn. 🙂
Absolutely breathtaking poem
Much love
Thank you Gillena… much love to you my friend! 🙂
we are like devolved insects under the sky of infinity.
I truly do not understand the allure of greed and power Lisa. I tried to play the game, but I just could not uncouple my heart from my life.
way to go with this one. we are petty under the stars. well said
Thank you Rog! 🙂
“Making war beneath infinity” … those words will linger with me long, Rob. Great stuff!
Thank you Bev, very much… 🙂
You nailed this, Rob. If people realized their own insignificance, there’d be more wondering going on and far less assertion. <3
Too many people focused on power and material things Susan. They don’t realize that balance is what makes life beautiful, IMHO
Will we ever learn? Well said.
Hate to sayit Candy, but I donottjink we eilll.
Beautiful words. That ending had a punch. Nicely done quadrille.
Thank you Arcadia… 🙂
Ending lines are full of wisdom. At the end, we are all just dust and sands.
Likely partially stardust in considering our root origin, and thank you Grace.
Yes, looking out at the vast beauty of the universe, humans seems very small. Earth could be swallowed up by the universe that is how small we really are. There is a greater vision that wishes to manifest love into the cosmos. I think creator must look down at us and think what fools. I gave them free-will and they use it for destruction. sigh…I could talk about this for hours.
I hope you are doing well…
Thank you True. The universe is such a remarkable wonder, and we humans are a most fortunate guest, yet we act like spoiled, entitled brats. However this amazing infinite miracle came to be, we didn’t create it, it by no means is here exclusively for the insignificant likes of us — and it most certainly does not belong to us. Only the distorted human ego could even entertain such absurdity. And this notion that we must be the only clever creatures in the universe “because we can’t find any others”. We haven’t even figured out yet how to effectively get beyond our own solar system. What the fuck do we know about what or who may be in the vast reaches of the universe, or even how many universes there may be. Human arrogance knows no bounds.
Rob, I totally agree. There is def more out there than meets the eye. Our human lens and manufactured lens only catches glimpses of possibilities. I have seen and experienced some amazing happenings and i am certain it was not by chance. We are guests of this great planet and our host surely wishes we would clean up our damn messes. Dirty laundry….. now i have that song looping in my head.
With you 100% True! 🙂 I have been humming Barry McGuires “Eve Of Destruction” for years now… 😉
“looking up
into crystalline clarity”
Lines that stand out in an unclear world.
Love a cloud free night sky when viewed in wilderness Benita.
Your poem really puts things into perspective, Rob: if only more of us would look up at the stars and wonder!
I am pleased it resonated for you Ingrid. So many us are so distracted and overwhelmed by our daily undertakings, be they worthwhile or undermining, that we can’t relax enough to look up. We really begin to think that this hunk of rock and space dust down here, that we scurry so frantically about on, is all there is — and that it, and we, are profoundly important. We are no more than a fart in a hurricane, and even if we try to destroy this planet — we really can’t. We certainly might wipe our species out, and in the great big picture of things, we might alter the surface of the planet momentarily — but in a snap of eternity’s finger, earth will continue speeding through space as though we were never here. And even if we beczme do insane as to actually blow the whole thing up — there are billions snd billions of planets, throughout universes of universes. Again, the destruction of planet earth would create a self aligning shift in our solar system, but only a blip in the strand continuum of all existence. Our small little human brains are the only things that think it would be a big deal in the overall scheme. Sad thing is, our frail misguided species could avoid some inconvenient shit for ourselves, if we could look up, in true humility, and get our gratitude thing together. Will we — I doubt it. Evidence doesn’t point that way.
Exactly so, Rob.
-David
Yes, thank you David! 🙂
This concept needs to be said again and again, in such beautiful, effective ways…
Thank you, and yes it does Ain. But the skeptic in me does not see the evidence that the human species, as a whole,, really gets it — or cares. Hope I am wrong for our sake.
Beautifully said, Rob. Here we are destroying our beautiful world, but we’re just a small “pale blue dot” in the universe.
We are certainly wreaking havoc on our gaia merril!