One More Night

I drink deeply of the silence
Of starry late winter skies
My old friend Orion marches in step
With Gemini and his companions;
A new moon hides behind the dark veil,
leaving distant suns sparkling with rare brilliance.
 
A teenager I once knew
Yearned painfully to reach those stars;
Eighteen to eighty serves up
A disheartening dose of reality
Year by year, day by day,
Moment by soul-crushing moment.
 
Yet dreams dead and buried
Slowly but surely give way
To clarity that cuts through the noise
Of dizzying, delusionary existence,
Shining a light on little joys and pleasures
More real than the child's fantastical cosmic journeys.
 
Today and tomorrow hold challenge enough
I leave the adventure to Orion's sword
To others more bold, more deserving of the crowd's acclaim,
Slightly less accustomed to banality and routine;
I sip my wine and sigh
And drink deeply of one more precious night.