Years ago, on the last night of my stay in England, I went for a walk with a young man who showed me the night sky. He pointed to stars that were foreign and invisible to me in my own familiar gazing, and I knew I would only see that slice of the heavens again if I returned there.
With the moon, it is not that way.
Late autumn and winter sunsets are so rich and vivid -- I always want to share them. They change so quickly, though; and being so near the horizon, they can lose their brilliance from the slightest shift in vantage point. Not so easy to share . . .
With the moon, it is not that way.
On any given clear night, I could call and say, "The moon is magnificent. Look at it with me!" If you were clear across the country or only a block away, it would not matter. We would see the very same moon at the very same time. You could "ooh" and I could "aah."
With the moon, it is that way.
Those are the same stars, and that is the same moon,
that look down upon your brothers and sisters,
and which they see as they look up to them,
though they are ever so far away from us, and each other.
~Isabella Baumfree
~ End Quote
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