Falling into the sky

Don't look up!

Hi Wayfarers!

I don’t have much in the way of a question or a micro-essay today. Just a little story behind the poem.

fell into night sky
swallowed by a sea of stars
beached on wonder’s shores

This haiku was inspired by a strange experience I had while camping many years ago. I was looking up at the night sky and viewing the Miky Way with my children in the middle of a huge wild meadow when I had the sensation that I was falling into the sky.

I had to get a grip on myself since it was just me and the kids out in the wilderness. My oldest was only 11 at the time.

I sat down in the grass to literally ground myself in my surroundings. This helped signal my brain that I was not falling up.

I didn’t mention anything to the kids because I didn’t want to worry them, and they were awestruck by the wonders of the universe.

After everyone had their fill of the sky, we went back to our tent and had a great night’s sleep.

I was reminded of this a few months ago when reading Open Road by

Toby Neal

She had a similar experience with the vastness of the night sky at the Grand Canyon. I’ve never heard of anyone else experiencing that sensation.

See other haiku comics like this one in my new book, Wild Divinity, coming out next week!

Cheers,

Jason