I wrote this poem while reflecting on how detached and displaced many of us are from the intricacies and wonders of nature. We take so much for granted in our lives—and often don’t understand or appreciate the blessings we have—but we could all be more mindful of the wonders around us.

"Light"

By Billie Holladay Skelley
 
It illuminates our lives with brilliant radiance,
This luminescence that sets our world aglow.
A shimmering luster that goes where it wants
and wants for nothing wherever it goes.
 
What is this energy that shines upon us,
Without which we could not subsist?
Most of us never give it much thought,
But without it we would not exist.
 
For Newton, it was composed of strange particles,
Huygens thought pulses or waves,
Maxwell concurred with a wave structure,
But now it is just photons we praise.
 
Perhaps, like the ultraviolet rays,
That are invisible to our eyes,
It is all just an optical illusion,
Only scattered reflections in disguise.
 
After all these years studying the spectrum,
It seems strange how little we know,
Except that it goes where it wants
and wants for nothing wherever it goes.

Billie Holladay Skelley is a registered nurse by profession and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She has written health-related articles for both professional and lay journals. Her poems, articles, and essays have appeared in various journals, magazines, and anthologies in print and online. She has also written books for children.