Each Fall I count the shrinking days And watch the moon and note its phase, And then I’ll check where in the week The Leonids are at their peak.
When those November days roll ‘round, And all my hiking gear is found, I find a night both crisp and clear And trace the steps I made last year.
And this nocturnal exercise Will test my wind and burn my thighs, But I will make this starlit trek To freeze my toes and kink my neck
And climb this lonesome country hill All bundled up against the chill To watch the Gods this autumn night Fill up the sky with laser light.
It was my granddad who first brought Me to this dark secluded spot That I might come to recognize The wonders of those ebon skies.
And as my mind is then imbued With inky midnight solitude, I settle down on fresh cut boughs And through the heavens start to browse.
Impatiently I strain my eyes To see that first streak in the skies That foretells what is yet to come In Nature’s auditorium.
And what keen mind has done the math That puts our planet in the path Of this well-known celestial shower That drenches Earth at this late hour?
For buried in the distant past Some firey comet breathed its last, And all that’s left for us to see Is pyrotechnic space debris.
It’s hard believing that it’s just A little bit of ice and dust That I have come to see each year Cremated in Earth’s atmosphere.
And somewhere they give seminars About these brilliant falling stars, Whose lives are spent in one brief flash, And then reduced to cosmic ash.
And can I gather all the worth From my brief life upon this Earth, And radiate celestial fire Before I burn out and expire?
Now as my mind returns from space To this remote and quiet place, The show is drawing to a close, And Eastern hills are glowing rose.
And I can hardly wait until I hike this old familiar hill Surrounded by my own grandkids Who’ll watch with awe these Leonids.