A Carpet of Lights

Looking out the window on the long, trans-Atlantic, night flight home, I was taken with how beautiful all the lights were: lights of the big dipper high above the wing to the north, lights of at least two thunder storms over Naples and the north coast of Spain, but especially the lights of civilization far below.  Sometimes the cluster of lights was quite small, sometimes huge.  But even at 40,000 feet elevation, the individual lights were discernible.  And that's when I thought about how God can see us and even more clearly discern each of us.  This poem came as a result.

A Carpet of Lights

David Benning, 13-Sep-2014

Glittering,
   Sparkling,
      Carpet of tiny lights.
Dazzling,
   Twinkling,
      Strewn under velvet night.

Mesmerizing grove,
   Trimmed and cropped short,
      Placed between earth and sky;
Variegated textures
   Stippled down below—
      Multi-hued points capture the eye.

Through the window
   Downward I peer,
      Ensconced in night and metal jet.
High overhead
   Lone eye looks down,
      Spreading on water, land and cloud a silver net.

Tiny light underneath,
   Numerous lights below,
      Patterns unfolding, cities to reveal;
Coiling around,
   Radiating outward,
      Imprint of culture can be seen still.

Haze now obscuring,
   Clouds blocking the view,
      Lights twinkle then fade from the sight.
Moon far above,
   Pale tenuous light,
      Cannot find hint of the carpet of light.

All lies uncovered,
   Though hidden by cloud,
      Under the sight of our Father in Heaven.
Though He seem distant
   And far from our gaze,
      To Him a record and account must be given.