Marfa Lights

 

Susan was clear-headed
Looking with me as we drove
Though we saw little
Throughout the miles
To her sister, remote
From almost everything.
Ranchers came from miles

For breakfast at one of the two
Restaurants and in the evening
There was little one could do
Unless one drove to see
The lights knowing they
Wouldn’t always appear
And when they did

They seemed little more
Than headlights on a road.
We were assured there were
No roads there.  Perhaps
An inversion created a lens
I thought, but the air
Was clear and one could see

The stars to a magnitude
Of five with our
Poor eyes.  The lights
Moved where no single
Thing was known to live. 
I might have gone to
Katmandu instead.

The lights hadn’t
Brightened the night,
But Susan
With stars reflected
In her eyes
Was far above
The mountains of Nepal.