It's still dark, and a crescent moon hangs over the horizon with Venus beaming next to it. Saturn is right there in line. A cold stillness sits on the snow and trees, and even the coyotes are quiet. The air is like a knife. It cuts through my jacket and sizzles against my skin. The world sleeps, but I am sharply awake. Everything is clear and crisp with edges. For just this snapshot of a moment, the stars look still, but I know they are up there spinning away, lit by fusion and matter that will run out eventually. Maybe it has already, and what I see of them is the light they sent out while they were still young with so much time and light and gravitational attraction ahead of them.
