'Tis There Beyond the Reach of Earth

Photo by K. Hartnett

'Tis there beyond the reach of earth

That ever draws my heart away...

To wonder at the universe;

To think, to watch,

To dream, to pray.

 

K. Hartnett, May 1997

 

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You haveset in place, what is man that You are mindfulof Him, the son of man that You care for him? (Psalm 8:3,4)

The Moon and Venus - Beauty Graces the Predawn Sky 

The two brightest objects in our nighttime sky, the Moon and the planet Venus, combined their brilliance for this spectacular sight on the morning of January 27, 1995. Although not rare, optical co-alignments like this of Venus and the Moon (called conjunctions) usually happen only a couple times a year and many are clouded out or happen before dawn. In this photo the planet and the bright limb of the Moon are purposefully overexposed in order to reveal the fainter light coming from the non-illuminated lunar face. Called “earthshine,” this glow is light from the sun reflected first from the cloud tops of the earth to the Moon, where it is bounced back to earth.

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights!  Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His host!  Praise Him, Sun and Moon, praise Him all you shining stars!

(Psalm 148:1-3)

I took this dramatic picture from the rear parking lot of our Maryland suburban church in the frigid pre-dawn January sky. The startling appearance of Venus so close above the Moon made me want to point to the sky, yell something, and bring others to notice. It was this emotion, tempered through contemplation, that drove me to write this poem. “’Tis there,’ - beyond man’s ability to spoil it- that there lies a God-given beauty which causes me to think, wonder, watch, and prayerfully worship.