Once Upon a Midnight Clear

"There was no moon, and I have never seen the stars shine brighter;
they appeared to stand out of the sky, sparkling like diamonds.
It was the kind of night that made one feel glad to be alive."
- Jack Thayer, First Class Passenger on the RMS Titanic, from an account of the April 15th, 1912 sinking

Such a contrast to that "midnight dreary
when I pondered, weak and weary"
and considered the bust of Pallas Athena,
the guardian goddess of my door.

And heard the raven sing "Nevermore."

Oh, how glad I am that I can witness this night.
A million billion twinkling lights, all separate entities
And yet one distinctive unit.  To take away one
Would diminish all the others.

That would be a true tragedy, Mr. Poe.  And no "lost Lenore" can compete with that.

And yet, I find myself wondering,
'If no one is around to witness a miracle,
Is there proof that it actually happened?'

A bit like the "tree falling in the forest" question, isn't it?

And just as soon as the thought leaves my mind,
The dawn breaks over the horizon.
The announcement of the new day will sound in about an hour,
But I will be asleep long before then.

I have been up all night, sleepless,
Witnessing one miracle changing into another.
And the funny thing is, a hundred million more happen every day.