When the Lights Went Out

The boat rocked gently, a cradle on the sea,

A school trip’s laughter, a fleeting reverie.

Beneath the sky, where the horizon kissed the shore,

We ventured out, seeking something more.

“Lay down,” they said, “and look to the sky,”

The teacher’s voice soft, the night standing by.

A call was made, and one by one,

The city lights dimmed, until there were none.

The coast went dark, a quiet retreat,

As shadows folded beneath our feet.

And there it was—no clouds, no veil,

The cosmos unveiled its eternal tale.

The Milky Way stretched, a river of light,

A celestial band woven deep in the night.

Hues of violet, of blue, and gold,

A masterpiece no painter could hold.

Stars scattered like whispers, infinite and free,

Their glow reflected softly on the sea.

The water mirrored the heavens above,

A tender dance, a cosmic love.

I wondered then, how could this be?

A sight so vivid, so impossibly free.

For I had never seen this in waking hours,

A life spent bound by the city’s towers.

Yet here it was, clear as day,

A universe unbound, in its grand ballet.

I stayed there dreaming, the moment so real,

A brush of infinity, a world surreal.

The galaxy sang in a voice so low,

A melody only the dreamer could know.

And for the first time, I didn’t awake,

The stars held me, for their own sake.

I wonder now, what mind can create,

A vision so pure, a glimpse of fate.

Perhaps it’s the heart that longs to see,

The beauty hidden in eternity.

So here I stand, in a city of light,

Where stars are veiled by the urban night.

But I carry that dream, a treasure untold,

A vision of skies, both vast and bold.

And someday soon, I’ll chase that shore,

To see the stars I’ve dreamed before.

To find the Milky Way, in all its hues,

A dream reborn, beneath the true.