A Constellation of Birds

Here on campus there is as much light pollution as one might expect. It's a little sad at times, when for example walking across campus you catch sight of a single star, and seeing one star is so much worse than seeing none, because it reminds you of all those you haven't seen for months.

Still. I've mentioned before how at the sports field the sky is inky black and the spotlights look like 100 silver white moons, and they outline the branches of the trees just so delicately... and it's lovely.

And today as I was walking through Speaker's surface I caught sight of something bright and moving above. A flock of geese were flying over campus, and all of our lights were reflected brilliantly on their undersides, and they were high enough that one could barely tell they were birds. The air was filled with their wingbeats as they moved and glowed all in formation, moving apart, coming together, and all the while steadily making progress across campus.

I was determined to follow them as long as I could, hopping backwards over little walls and over tree-roots. Then they reached the edge of the campus, and faded one by one, each bird star glimmering one last time and disappearing.