1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ‘The Light of Stars’.
The night is come, but not too soon;
And sinking silently,
All silently, the little moon
Drops down behind the sky.
There is no light in earth or heaven
But the cold light of stars;
And the first watch of night is given
To the red planet Mars.
Is it the tender star of love?
The star of love and dreams?
O no! from that blue tent above,
A hero’s armour gleams
So begins this poem by the author of The Song of Hiawatha, about the planet named for the god of war rather than the god of love (Venus). What message for our lives can we take from the red planet?
2. Emily Dickinson, ‘Ah Moon – and Star!’
Ah, Moon—and Star!
You are very far—
But where no one
Farther than you—
Do you think I’d stop
For a Firmament—
Or a Cubit—or so?
So begins this poem, in which Dickinson (1830-86) does a bit of star-gazing, and concludes that, far away from her through the moon and stars are, they are not as far away as her beloved.
Thus a poem that begins a little like a nursery rhyme or lullaby – reminiscent of a child’s classic like ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ – ends up striking a wistful and slightly plangent note, as we realise that, far away though the moon and star are, Dickinson feels that the one she loves is farther off still. Or may as well be, since she cannot be with him. ‘Star-cross’d lovers’, indeed.
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