The Beauty of "Trash Day"

Today is Friday, and since I'm a single person, I had to take out the trash this morning.

I don't like taking out the trash. Because I dislike it so much, I try to remember to take it out right after I wake up, between 4:30-5:00 am. At this time of the year, it's still pitch dark outside and I don't have to worry about the neighbors seeing me in my way too big Bucs shirt and jogging shorts.

This morning caught me by surprise.

As I was hauling out as the overfilled trash bin to the curb, thinking about the to do list waiting for me at work and wishing I could just crawl back under my covers, I happened to glance up.

Just above the horizon and nearly filling the sky, was the giant Orion, his blazing belt and accompanying celebrities seemingly alone in, and completely filling that portion of the sky.

The rumbling sound of plastic wheels on brick pavers halted, and the world was immediately filled with a comforting silence. It was too cold for the usual chirp of crickets, and none of the neighbors had ventured from the warmth of their homes yet. To quote a certain man, I felt I had shared a secret with the magnificent, towering hunter in the sky, and I imagined him flashing me a quick, twinkling wink. He was my secret, this legendary hunter.

I stood still, just watching, observing what I felt was a pivotal moment in time. This might be the last time Orion lines up precisely the way he was this morning, and I didn't want to waste a moment. I traced his form, and focused on the trinity of stars in his belt. They seemed so close to me...I felt tiny and insignificant, yet bold. With Orion watching over me, I had nothing to be scared of.

A neighbor's garage door slowly grumbled up and the fairy dust moment had diminished. I rumbled the bin the rest of the way to the curb, then turned around, and was again struck by what I saw-- the Big Dipper, upside down, right in from of me, and like Orion, all alone in the sky.

I felt blessed, and my minor cares for the day faded like waterfall mist into oblivion.

Stars have always held power over me. Many of my poems feature the constellations, and many are merged with spiritual or personal themes.

Like this one I wrote when I was fifteen:

I glimpse
A solitary star
Shimmering in the winter sky,
And for a silent moment,
We share the loneliness.

Or this one, written at about the same time:

An intimate thought
I think to the brightest star
And I wonder
If you glance up
And catch it as it blazes.

Or this little, sorta silly one:

Stars are fancy.
Burning a drama alive.

And this sad one:

The waves are beautiful at night
Under a star drenched February sky,
But they don't stop
For the sake of my tears.

And the stars
Are a majesty
Crisp and cold and fire all the same,
Yet they don't cease to burn
To bear the burden of my sorrow.

And this one I found in an old William and Mary notebook. I must've been writing in there soon after high school, when I shared a class with the pastors son, Joel Wild, who was my on and off again boyfriend and best friend for years. His dad, a famous Calvary Chapel pastor, Malcolm Wild, and his wife, Carol, sorta adopted me into their family. They became my mentors, and I'm still proud to this day to call them dear friends.

Anyway, here's the poem...

I see You, Lion; it's no mistake
Leaving the stars in Your wake.
Your growl is thunder, your ire hail--
   I see you flash Your angry tail...
As You took to us, we knelt to You
For peace and strength and hope anew.

I see You, Lion, in the night
Three bright stars to unite
Our fallen world, and it's people, under one God, under one steeple.
But can it be done? Can it be true?
Or are Your people just much too few.

I see You, Lion, leaping high
Dodging stars across the sky,
You move so fast, You seem to stand still--
Omnipresent, with hearts to fill
With love and magic and a shooting star
To race with You, and not from afar.

So, maybe taking out the garbage isn't so bad, now....treasures are to be found among the trash. :)