These vast expanses broader than the skies
And deeper than the ocean, just as blue
Are unobtainable from where the view
Is struck by light and hidden from my eyes.
Oh marvels of the farthest-reaching space,
Oh nebulae, oh planets, ancient stars,
Already naked eyes have fought such wars
To glimpse beyond the darkness to your face.
And light which grows with centuries has bled
Still higher in the night and drowned you out.
My city home has left my eyes in doubt
That worlds of breathless beauty I have read
Exist, nor are they found where'er I look:
All space confined in pages of a book.
postscript
A Bowlesian (Or Australian) sonnet for Crowns of Sonnets' February Sonnet Challenge: [link] If I cannot see the stars and constellations in their bright glory, I wish I could at least see stars at all. Title from a poem by Sarah Williams, though the quote is often wrongly attributed to Galileo: "Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;/I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." (Some copies have read, "I have loved the stars too truly," but I don't know which is correct.)