Flying with Cygnus

Yeah - this may be a bit too geeky for many (er...all) of you, but I had an interesting, albeit brief, moment in my driveway last night. Our house is very socked in by trees. There are holes in their canopies here and there that allow for glimpses to the sky, but for the most part there are no clear sight lines to take in any meaningful portion of what is going on "up there". And that is where my moment begins.
I had to grab some milk the other night and return some tail light bulbs that I had erroneously bought. Thankfully the grocery store and the car parts stores were both open, but I noticed that it was quite a bit colder than it had been the past couple of nights. When I got out of the car I looked up into the sky and saw that it was snap clear. Through the copious trees that are in our front yard I noticed that I could see some of the Autumn constellations that I had grown to know and love. And there it was:

Cygnus.

All its stars were arranged so perfectly and I could hear nothing save what I thought was the flapping of its wings. I wanted to rise and meet it in the air. I wanted to touch it so badly but knew that all I had was the poetry in my head. I could no more be next to it than I could drive to China and back. So I did what I thought was the next best thing...

I stretched my arms out and fixed my gaze on it. For I moment I could have sworn that I flew. I pray that I truly did because it felt so real...I felt so good, so close to the real thing; or what I think the real thing feels like.

I am not sure if I will ever get the chance to do this again. I am so glad that I dared to do it that night. It is something that I pray that I will never forget.

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