W.S. Merwin's poem "Thanks" often springs to mind when I stop at the end of a day and look at the sky. "Listen," he begins, "with the night falling we are saying thank you." Before long, he's pitted gratitude against muggings, war, "forests falling faster than the minutes" and "cities growing over us." Upon first reading, it warmed my soul, this humane expression defying so much destruction. Lately, though, it strikes me with a more biting tone: civility, but at what cost?
One price of our growing cities is light pollution, a subject explored in two thoughtful new releases, one for adults and one for kids. Nightfaring by Megan Eaves-Egenes charts the former Lonely Planet editor's journey into increasingly rare regions where sundown still reveals a full slate of stars. Meanwhile, Who Hid the Stars? by Valentina Gottardi, Maciej Michno, and Danio Miserocchi illustrates for younger readers the environmental impact and potential solutions. Useful as it is, light can cut both ways--just like a poem.