CONSOLATION FOR THE COLD...

   I've complained about the bitter cold throughout these past few days of early March.
   I've grumbled at my dog who's pulled me from my bed too early for his necessary pre-dawn walk. 
   But then I've walked into the cold and darkness and looked up; and right away my friendship with the sky is new again. 
   It may bring misery for me to go into the cold before the clock strikes 5 a.m., but did I forget that's when the sky itself is darker than dark; and the stars are brighter and seem closer to the earth?
   As I raise my face into that splendor, the universe becomes a part of me and I feel its continuity; and peace.
   If age had not brought stiffness to my neck, I might communicate with sky and stars until the daylight shoos them from my view.
   Strangely, my big dog appears to share the fascination. Feeling him against my knee, I look down and realize he's looking up into the stars with me.
   And I'm no longer irritated at him for the early wake-up call.