My Sky by Dianne Lotter

Dec. 21, 2007

What I see registers in my soul, never to be seen again quite the same.  Blotches of white against azure blankets of soft and billowy waves, streaks of sunlight darting in and out, peeking between the clouds, teasing the eyes looking out  my window towards the western sky.  Sometimes the sky is dramatic, like purple streaks dashing through blazing grays and oranges.  The sky is on fire with color!  See it now, because it will never appear the same again.  God is the artist.  He paints endlessly, to distraction...colors blending, clashing, blinding...reds, golds, purples, blacks, ribbons of white darting in and out behind and beneath the clouds.  Note - you will never see this same sky again!  You  must look now and gasp!

Today I see puffs of white in a sunny background of yellow.  They dance among billows of azure waves, golds zig-zagging across the horizon, growing brighter, bigger, bolder by the minute.  Then ah!  The climax - a fireball disappears behind mountains of grays and purples and brightness is no more.

No one else sees it quite like I see it, for everyone looks from a different vantage point.  Some days the sky is a friend and sometimes it is a menace.  Sometimes I can look up and be uplifted.  At other times, I look out and am alarmed and dismayed at what I see.  A storm is brewing.  The darkness is eaten up by ugly blacks and purples.  The sky tells me to run for cover.

At other times, the brightness beckons me to come outdoors, for the day is more lovely than any other day I've ever experienced.  I don't want to miss a moment under this bright and billowy umbrella.  I have already looked out my window, only to see a blanket of bright pink covering every inch - a color I can't even describe because it is so bright and beautiful...wavy and moving steadily towards the horizon, changing every second.

At night I look out at my sky and am welcomed by my friends, the moon and the stars.  Clouds roll in and out, teasing me.  First I see the moon and then I don't.  Where did all the stars go?  Suddenly it clears up, and I look deeply into infinity.  I lie on my bed and wonder how far this sky travels.  Where does it stop?  Where can I get off?  Am I the only one watching it tonight?  Is it my sky?  Does the moon shine brightly just for me?  Do those stars twinkle at me as though winking from above?  I feel the wonder and gradually I grow hazy as sleep begins to take over.  Tomorrow night will be another adventure - an adventure with "my sky"!