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Fragment of Light

A Winter Sonnet

This is a true story from my teen years. I could have said that my buddy Jon Klassen and I went camping on a hill near Brandon, Manitoba and saw some cool northern lights. Then he woke up to see me curled around an ember from the dying campfire, whereupon I stated with solemn profundity, “A fragment of light!” Or at least that’s what he claimed in the morning. Telling it in Spenserian sonnet form (rhyming abab bcbc cdcd ee) is more fun. I cheated a bit since my d lines are also a rhymes, but I like it that way. I also didn't bother with iambic pentameter. In any case, I have never before or never since seen such a spectacular example of the aurora borealis.

Upon a winter hill so white
Beside our fire we did lie
When I perceived a glor'ious sight
And in my awe let out a cry

Purple waves sailed through the sky
Above us vibrant colors flew
They rippled bright as they went by
Night rainbows of a brill'iant hue

With such bright splashes green and blue
Who rends the fabric of the night
With tinge of pink and cyan too
His Arctic palette spilling light?

Fragment of light an ember glows
Falls from God's palette to my toes

by Randy Brandt
Written 5 December 2023 in 75 minutes when I needed a work break

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