The early hours

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I’m awake.
My head says I should be asleep.
I’ve tossed and turned for a while.
My arm has gone numb so I change position again.
I don’t want to look at the clock.
My body feels tired.
My mind won’t switch off.
The gentle snoring next to me is not soothing,
It is a frustration.
I check the time.
4.21 am.
I’m thirsty.
I get up.
I make a mug of tea.
I walk to the lounge window.
The night sky is beautiful this morning.
A waning quarter moon,
Just a few small fleeting clouds.
The lights of Hobart in the distance,
Reflecting on the harbour.

We have a wonderful waterfront view,
From our lounge and balcony.
I stand in the dark.
Orion is instantly recognisable.
It was the first constellation I learned
in my early astronomy classes.
A favourite.
Although now upside down to the
northern hemisphere pattern.
I see Taurus, Aries, Pegasus, Pisces.
Familiar formations in the northern sky.
But to the south, still so much to learn.
I can recognise Crux, the Southern Cross
and it’s two pointer stars.
The brighter one, Alpha Centauri,
is the closest star to Earth.
I look to the southern sky,
with a phone app to guide me,
until I identify two more constellations,
Canis Major and Puppis.

Something catches my eye.
A light moving across the sky,
north to south east.
Sky Guide confirms my thought,
ISS.
The International Space Station
glides amongst the stars.
A steady light as it travels,
in it’s orbit.
A circuit of the Earth
every ninety minutes.
Six people living in space.
Working in zero gravity,
to increase our understanding
of various aspects of science.
What a view they have of our world
from four hundred kilometres high.
Multiple sunrise, sunsets.
An aerial view of continents and oceans.
Our home planet.

Now, as I write this,
Listening to music,
Time is irrelevant.
The sky is lightening in the east.
I can hear birds awakening.
Ducks are swimming.
Early kayaker’s are paddling by.
Traffic increases towards the city.
Sea birds search for breakfast,
perch on rocks,
as the tide goes out.
Black sky turns to blue,
orange, turquoise.
Vivid colours constantly changing.
The stars gradually disappear.
The moon follows it’s path
towards the west.
Orange fades to yellow.
The sun inches above the horizon,
lighting the world for a brand new day.