Have You Ever?

From: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/
How can the majesty of the night sky best be captured in a painting? This was a continual challenge for Vincent van Gogh, a famous painter in the late 1800s who pioneered stirring depictions of star filled skies into several of his works. Pictured above is van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone, where the French town of Arles is depicted complete with gas lights reflecting off the Rhone river. van Gogh's night sky appears alive with turbulent stellar images contrasting with lofty dark blue hues. Above the river, one can discern the stars of the familiar Big Dipper asterism. Following a line connecting the two Big Dipper stars on the right, the North Star Polaris could be easily found, the height of which can then be estimated and actually gives the latitude where the painting was created.

HAVE YOU EVER?

have you ever seen a van gogh painting?
so thick with color
you look at it wondering
was he sculpting or painting?

have you ever seen a night sky?
so thick with wonder
you look at it imagining
was He needing all of that space?

have you ever seen a child's eyes?
so thick with innocence
you look at them sadly
was i ever so innocent?

have you ever lost your direction?
so thick with loneliness
you sink inside yourself questioning
why was i born?

have you ever stopped to listen?
so thick with reason
you wonder at the silence
will the stillness bring me peace?