The Bright Lights Of The Finished Show

...it is worth reporting that long before the circus comes to town, its most notable performances have already been given. Under the bright lights of the finished show, a performer need only reflect the electric candle power that is directed upon him; but in the dark and dirty old training rings and in the makeshift cages, whatever light is generated, whatever excitement, whatever beauty, must come from original sources—from internal fires of professional hunger and delight, from the exuberance and gravity of youth. It is the difference between planetary light and the combustion of stars.

E. B. White, “Ring of Time”
Planetary Light And The Combustion Of Stars

Mercury is the planet nearest to the Sun.
Through binoculars I saw the planet today.
Planetary light is a reflected display.
Mercury reflects the nearby Sun’s combustion.

Electric lights, here—for safety, business and fun—
push the night away, push planets and stars away,
push everything out there away so we can play
just here, just now, play with just this, no distraction.


I couldn’t see Mercury with my naked eye.
I had to tell someone, “Start there, look down, then right.”
Then with my binoculars she could see it, too.

Mercury, so close to the Sun, cannot defy
the electric lights, here. They have destroyed the night.
We play, just here, just now, with this, lost to what’s true.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


“Are you a witch?”


Squirrels Of Chaos And Delight


Planetary Colors And The Grail Quest



Imagining My Lost Blue Umbrella








“Reading With Green Umbrella,” Berthe Morisot