shafts of northern lights

arch from horizon to horizon

muted white, at times tinged

with green or pale maroon

rather than pink but strangely still

as though embedded in faint haze

third night of aurora borealis

from our sun’s upheavals, flares

of intense, chaotic storm

hurling fierce, solar winds

against earth’s electro-magnetic shield

how little we comprehend

our fragile haven amidst

the battle of titanic forces waging

so close around us