Night Sky, and: The Space Between Us

Abstract

Night Sky, and: The Space Between Us Robert Hammond Dorsett Night Sky I step from sleep into my yard.The sky bursts into theme: The collected symbolsof stars, those tracts of lies and memories, placed by thechurch fathers, glow like paint from old cathedral ceilings.But now we know stars are lights from distant suns thattravel through a deeper, unscriptured dark to show our mythscosmetic, our cosmos large [End Page 105] The Space Between Us What I say to you is by leaveof your understanding. A word, no more,but less than the enduring silencethat coverts the room. It alsois unattainable. So that I am forced tosay that to which I bear no witness,but offer the misunderstanding forwhat you’ve taken the words to mean,and the words you knew that I hadn’tmeant to say; for the cadence ofwhat is there, the sough, strain, of languageis captured only in the absence between whatI said and did not say, and entreats no one.But stay awhile and listen, mistake mefor what I no longer am. [End Page 106] Robert Hammond Dorsett Berkeley, California Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press