the milky way

the band visible overhead from the meridian to the southern horizon, fainter near sagittarius than the page would have it, brighter near the rift. the dust lanes were dark and certain, the way a missing tooth is certain. transparency was seven of ten. moonless.

one forgets, between sightings, that it is a structure and not a smear. tonight it was a structure. the eye separated the brightness into many braided regions, and most of the braiding is stars that will never be counted by anyone.

field-note · this is the long building from inside, seen edge-on. you live in it and rarely look up at the ceiling.

the constellations · visible figures · number · midnight · adundas