Coming home on the night ferry from Victoria I saw so many things.
I was bundled and standing at the bow, the stars were legion, the big dipper closer than I’ve ever seen it. In the dark of Active Pass the ferry illuminated the islands, giving the forests a gently supernatural glow in the moonless night, and glinting off the whitecaps lurching from its wake. As we came out of the pass there was an arc of cloud formation crossing the sky, Tsawwassen twinkling beneath it on the horizon. The arc seemed to hang over the city, but as we got closer the perspective shifted and I realized the arc was low and close, out over the ocean, forming a sort of gateway we would pass under. The clouds looked like a parade of woodland creatures, each running at full speed, and at that moment in their strides where none of their feet were touching the ground. Fox, hare, stoat, vole, possum, badger... and all the little ferries criss crossing the water underneath, tiny jewel cities set adrift on the night sea.
All this celestial and corporeal phenomena, the stars, the clouds, the boats, the trees, the twinkle, the glow, I could witness it all at once, my face in the wind, wide open with awe and joy.
I was bundled and standing at the bow, the stars were legion, the big dipper closer than I’ve ever seen it. In the dark of Active Pass the ferry illuminated the islands, giving the forests a gently supernatural glow in the moonless night, and glinting off the whitecaps lurching from its wake. As we came out of the pass there was an arc of cloud formation crossing the sky, Tsawwassen twinkling beneath it on the horizon. The arc seemed to hang over the city, but as we got closer the perspective shifted and I realized the arc was low and close, out over the ocean, forming a sort of gateway we would pass under. The clouds looked like a parade of woodland creatures, each running at full speed, and at that moment in their strides where none of their feet were touching the ground. Fox, hare, stoat, vole, possum, badger... and all the little ferries criss crossing the water underneath, tiny jewel cities set adrift on the night sea.
All this celestial and corporeal phenomena, the stars, the clouds, the boats, the trees, the twinkle, the glow, I could witness it all at once, my face in the wind, wide open with awe and joy.
