Hemingway’s Cut
The Gathering at Dusk
The night does not ask for permission. It comes as it always has, rolling over the curve of the earth, turning the sky from gold to red to black. And in that dark, seven planets stand together one last time before they drift apart once more. Mars, red and steady. Jupiter, heavy with storms. Venus, bright and burning. Uranus and Neptune, cold and far. Mercury, quick-footed. Saturn, ringed and quiet.
A man could stand in the open, the wind at his back, and see them if he knew where to look. Some would be bright enough to catch with the naked eye. Others would demand more effort, a steady hand with a telescope or binoculars. But all of them would shine for a moment, a brief gathering before they moved on.
A Sight That Will Not Last
The planets do not wait. They follow their own paths, slow and unchanging, indifferent to the men below who watch them. This alignment is rare. It will not come again until 2040. Those who miss it will have to wait sixteen years for another chance.
There is something in that—a kind of finality. A man does not always get another chance. The planets do not care if you are watching or if you are looking away. They do not stop for sentiment. They align, they drift apart, and they go on.
Men have looked to the sky for as long as they have walked the earth. They have seen omens in the stars, read their fates in the planets. But the truth is simpler. The planets do not speak. They do not warn or promise. They simply are.
The Time to Look is Now
If a man wishes to see them, he must go out at twilight, when the sky is dark enough but not yet swallowed by night. He must know where to look. Venus will be the brightest. Jupiter will be strong. The others will take patience. A steady hand, a clear night.
There will be those who do not look. They will be busy with their lives, with their work, with their troubles. But the planets will be there just the same, for those who care to see them.
And when they are gone, the night will still come, and the world will turn, and the planets will move on their slow and steady paths through the dark.
