“Night ends for Bellingham on June 14th and doesn’t resume until the 29th”
This post I see on Reddit
sounds more like an omen
NIGHT ENDS FOR BELLINGHAM
or maybe
it’s the name of a punk band
the title of a poem
a eulogy
For two weeks the center of the sun will fail
to dip the required 18 degrees below the horizon
will fail to reach astronomical night
without true night’s contrast
galaxies
nebula
globular clusters
will disappear
Drive just a little south and night continues
which is a way of saying
I can feel the curve of the earth
only here
in this Northwest town
dare to look up from your Bellingham life
and you’ll witness infinitude
Light still lingers on big leaf maples
well after I’ve bundled into bed
shines through dense, wet clouds
who have swallowed this town for 9 months
an unholy grace
Since mid-September each day grew damper
darker, colder than the last
then May failed to produce a single day over 70 degrees
so I held out hope for June
but another atmospheric river sweeps over us
like a punishment
winter sweaters still in regular rotation
raincoat ready, dripping
at the backdoor
rain running rivers once again
down pavement
houses are still lifted off their foundations
not recovered from last fall’s flood
there is not enough vitamin D in the world
to lift me out of this stupor
to raise my bones up out of this flood
to prevent my foundation from rotting
But night ends for Bellingham on June 14th.
This calls for celebration.