Poem Review: Beautiful Nights
I prefer nights to days. The night is a poet—author—reader’s delight, as they provide the necessary time and space to ponder and compose. The night is the artist’s canvas of time. Most of my writing happens at night. What about my fellow poets and other artists?
“That’s the advantage of insomnia. People who go to bed early always complain that the night is too short, but for those of us who stay up all night, it can feel as long as a lifetime. You get a lot done”
― Banana Yoshimoto, N.P
I agree with Banana. It is the night that gets my work done, for the day is stolen by others. The night is my time, my space.
To explore the beautiful nights through the eyes of poets is a divine opportunity, therefore. In this poetry review, we review the beauty of night through three poems while I work on the poets’ consent.
Poem 1: ‘The Beauty of the Night’ by MELANIE MOSES 🇬🇧 ( I am trying to connect with her) expresses the beauty of the night sky especially the stars and the planets.
Poem 2: ‘I Hear the air move’ by David Shapiro-Zysk, expresses the relief of the night air, which has suffered the heat of the day.
Poem 3: ‘Enjoy the Darkness’ by Michelle Morris, expresses the magic moments of the night as she walks around in the night.
Poetry about the nights, here they come.
Poem 1: The Beauty of the Night💫🧡🌟
The beauty of the night
Emerging from the day
The majesty of the stars
Their glory on displayOranges, crimsons, ambers & reds
An artisans palette of inventiveness
To paint the vision they see
Bringing life to their canvas with congruencyMirrored waters reflections from above
Cascading down blessings filled with love
Pure fascination & wonders to view
The vastness of the universe
Flowing forever newAn evening of splendour
Where wishes are made
On the tail of shooting stars
Destination Saturn & certainly not MarsSoaring high across heavens skies
Fresh opportunities for your mind to prizeLight elevating darkness
To the delight of the night
With darkness enhancing the stars
Sparkling pure & brightOpposites providing contrasts
Since time began
The mystery of both
Ying & YangBoth mesmerising & true
With the miracle of life’s transformation
Finely woven through xxx~Melanie Moses © April 2021
Commentary on Poem 1:
Melanie has brought every aspect of what makes the night beautiful. There is a sense of beauty that the night draws from the day and as it grows and matures into the wee hours.
The beauty of the night
Emerging from the day
The majesty of the stars
Their glory on display
The night is the baby of an old day, looking pink and beautiful. But slowly, it turns into a black blanket and the sparkling diamonds above us. The majesty and glory of the stars are on display.
“Not just beautiful, though — the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they’re watching me.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
The stars are magical, breathing, twinkling and winking, making fun, and partying — only if we see them, we can see that they are soulful playmates.
Oranges, crimsons, ambers & reds
An artisans palette of inventiveness
To paint the vision they see
Bringing life to their canvas with congruency
The magic of the twilight is its delightful palette of colors — Orange, Crimson, amber, and red. When the fiery sun kisses its way into the night and illuminates the brief blush of colorful courtship with the sky. The imagination of the artist is unlimited. The dusk sky is the
“Dusk, like a painter, gave a certain overpowering tone to the landscape that united all the colors and effaced discord.”
― Margarita Liberaki, Three Summers
The imagination of the artists — both human and divine has the ability to bring together their vision, a colorful canvas albeit momentary, chaotic, and discordant, begs for the next chance with appears the next day.
Mirrored waters reflections from above
Cascading down blessings filled with love
Pure fascination & wonders to view
The vastness of the universe
Flowing forever new
The cities are a jungle with cement and steel trees, covered with glass. The glass reflects the skies — the shining sun and sprinkly stars. The city lights are the stars on the ground, and the fountains reflect that colorful sparkle.
“Each neighborhood of the city appeared to be made of a different substance, each seemed to have a different air pressure, a different psychic weight: the bright lights and shuttered shops, the housing projects and luxury hotels, the fire escapes and city parks.”
― Teju Cole, Open City
The city is a universe by itself. There are people who fall in love, build dreams, fall, struggle, and rise, leave a city, migrate, or come back again — a lot of things happen. The poet paints a vivid picture of goodness — ‘cascading blessings filled with love’, describing the city and bringing the goodness all in a single scoop of words.
An evening of splendour
Where wishes are made
On the tail of shooting stars
Destination Saturn & certainly not MarsSoaring high across heavens skies
Fresh opportunities for your mind to prize
The evening is the promise of a wonderful night. It is when people wind up their work and head home. Some still chase dreams, probably heading towards another job, while others may take meetings that put them either ahead or work through other aspects of their lives. Or just let their hair down and footloose. Life is about living, and there is no place like the night in a city.
Light elevating darkness
To the delight of the night
With darkness enhancing the stars
Sparkling pure & bright
The lights in the town illuminate the darkness but create shadows. Shadows are signatures of light made of darkness. It is magic that the darkness in the sky illuminates (read enhances) the stars, that twinkle and shine ‘pure and bright’. The dance of light illuminating darkness on earth and darkness illuminating the stars in the sky — just like the Yin and Yang.
Did I tell you so? Yin and Yang. It flows, right? Now read the last stanza.
Opposites providing contrasts
Since time began
The mystery of both
Ying & YangBoth mesmerising & true
With the miracle of life’s transformation
Finely woven through xxx
Since time immemorial, the contrast of the opposites has enamored the poet and the artists’ imagination. The contrasting shades are what make the world beautiful.
“The dance between darkness and light will always remain — the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness will just not be worth having without the moon and the stars.”
― C. JoyBell C.
The beauty of the shadows and light make the night beautiful. The poet’s taste for the dancing of the evening’s colors and the beautiful contrasts.
Poem 2: I Hear the Air Move
I hear the air move softly
as it settles into night
and waits
for us to sleep
before it howls
in great relief~ David Shapiro-Zysk
Commentary on Poem 2:
The night air is a living creature by itself. It breathes, suffers, and rejoices, much like us. This poem, I presume, was written on a hot summer night. It is the day that defines the night.
In the early days, especially in my childhood, and earlier than that, people love summers. They were active, running around and getting work done. But today, with the planet warming more than ever, summer days are when one has to cool their head and heels.
I hear the air move softly
as it settles into night
The air around us reflects us. It carries the essence of our feelings and identity around. The tension, the joy, the sorrow, the scent of somebody’s breath, the sweat, their body, and their mouth odor mix into a stream as the breeze blows across the streets and alleys of the city.
The air sets the ambiance. It defines the city. There is something unique in the air of every city.
“Every second in the air in Paris, is art.”
― Jack Freestone
Sometimes, even pollution too. My point — the poet realizes this ingrained concept of the ‘air defining the city’ clearly. So, when the air ‘moves softly and settles into the night’ it is the way the city behaves. Slowly and softly, the city comes to a rest, as night dawns on the tired day.
and waits
for us to sleep
Humans need rest. But they have carried the day thus far, deep into the evening. The air, it seems, needs its space. A space that can be occupied by another set of nocturnal humans — probably the night owls and party animals. The regular diurnal beings, the day eagles need to let go of the space. The air becomes still and waits… and waits — for us to sleep.
before it howls
in great relief
After all, it carries the saltiness of the sweat, the sorrow of the tears, the sound of victory somewhere — it has been the messenger and the master of ceremonies of each day and night.
The night air howls in relief, as it turns into a windy gust, letting its hair down and feet lose, and puts up a breezy dance, just shaking its blythe, invisible body for another round of chores. Like the ones who breathe, the air also dreams.
“Breathing dreams like air”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Did you ever think of the ‘air in the city’ as a super being? I do, after this poem.
Poem 3: Enjoy the darkness
Outside in the stillness
I see the moon so high
Full and filled with magic
Wonder and brightnessIn my garden I walk
The grass is cool and green
The little yellow buttercups
Have bowed their heads to sleepThe nightlife is stirring
The fox will be by soon
It’s time for the nocturnal ones
Who live their life by the moonI love this quiet time
When humans stop their noise
When everything that needs this time
Is inspired and free to live their choicesCome to me my nightly ones
Let’s enjoy the darkness now
No one to spoil our magical moments
Until the daylight hoursFor the stars will shine brightest
When the sky is dark at night
Let us never be afraid of it
For in the darkness we can truly shine© Michelle Morris, 2023
Commentary on Poem 3:
The night is full of life. Try it. Poet Michelle Morris brings out the fascinating aspects of the ‘beautiful night’ that we are celebrating.
Outside in the stillness
I see the moon so high
Full and filled with magic
Wonder and bright
With the earthlings sleeping, the night is still. The lights are off and the sky is clear. It is the magic of the stillness, after the tumult and mundane affairs of the day, that illuminates the poet’s mind with wonder.
In my garden I walk
The grass is cool and green
The little yellow buttercups
Have bowed their heads to sleep
I walk around my sprawling apartment campus at night, just after dinner. I encounter a different world. This world is quieter, but there is enough activity during that time that amazes me. It is as if I have walked into a different place than I had seen in the nighttime.
The night temperature is lower, so the grass is cool. The yellow buttercups that shine against the dark green, shimmer in silent sleep, folding their petals and bowing their heads. For the ever-smiling flowers, it is a time to rest.
The nightlife is stirring
The fox will be by soon
It’s time for the nocturnal ones
Who live their life by the moon
While the flowers rest, the nocturnal life begins. The moon is the child of the night. The nightlife begins and thrives, including the quintessential fox, which will go around foraging and looking for small rodents scurrying along the corners of the garden.
I love this quiet time
When humans stop their noise
When everything that needs this time
Is inspired and free to live their choices
For the dream chasers, the night offers the luxury of quietness and solitude to work on their goals. For others, it is a time for rest, and for others, it is a time for introspection. The day is transactional but the night is transformational. It enables intelligence, introspection, and inspiration to creep back into the lives of those who sweat and slog during the day.
“I love the silent hour of night,
For blissful dreams may then arise,
Revealing to my charmed sight
What may not bless my waking eyes.”
― Anne Brontë, Best Poems of the Brontë Sisters
The solitude and silence of the nights are precious. It is nature’s gift to us. For those who are yet to start, there are dreams to live, which can be seen through the eyes of sleep, and for those who are already chasing their dreams, the rest gives a dreamless sleep. For everybody, night gives that space and spire needed to face the next day and the one after.
Come to me my nightly ones
Let’s enjoy the darkness now
No one to spoil our magical moments
Until the daylight hours
The poet loves the night, and she wants the other ‘nocturnal’ ones to join the exploration of the silent and dark hours. Let us enjoy the darkness, and embark on an unhinged and unbridled discovery of the magical moments till the dawn breaks.
For the stars will shine brightest
When the sky is dark at night
Let us never be afraid of it
For in the darkness we can truly shine
‘For in the darkness, we can truly shine’ — this is the line that stays with me. The line summarizes the poem and reflects the spirit of the night. The darkness is the inspiration. It is the stage of the night, and there is nothing to be afraid of. Like the stars that wink and twinkle, having their party, we shall also truly shine and make merry at night.
Nightfall is Nightrise
The night is the best complement to the day. As Atwood says below, the nocturnal see the night rising for their wake time to come alive.
“Night falls. Or has fallen. Why is it that night falls, instead of rising, like the dawn? Yet if you look east, at sunset, you can see night rising, not falling; darkness lifting into the sky, up from the horizon, like a black sun behind cloud cover. Like smoke from an unseen fire, a line of fire just below the horizon, brushfire or a burning city. Maybe night falls because it’s heavy, a thick curtain pulled up over the eyes. Wool blanket.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
In every sense, the night is an equal half of our lives. What we do in that half, depends on us and shapes us who we are.
~Ashok Subramanian © 2023
