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Le Crepuscule

For most of the winter months, I get to work before the sun comes up and leave work after the sun goes down. Praise the Lord the row of windows in my classroom faces East and at least get to enjoy the sunrise every morning. But, the days are growing longer and I realized this week that it is almost light as I am walking into the building. Yesterday morning as I walked into my classroom, the first thing that struck me was the brilliant red of the sky, dotted by cirrus clouds, fading into purple as it neared the horizon. It was one of the most brilliant sunrises I have seen in a long time and it really thrilled my heart.

It also made me think of one of my favorite books, Antoine de Saint Exupery's The Little Prince. I first read it as a child in English and then in high school in French. I can't find my paperback copy of it and will be purchasing a new one today so that I can reread it. The book is dedicated to Leon Werth, "When he was a little boy." The Little Prince lives on a tiny planet, Asteroid B-612.

Oh, little prince! Bit by bit I came to understand the secrets of your sad little life . . . For a long time you had found your only entertainment in the quiet pleasure of looking at the sunset. I learned that new detail on the morning of the fourth day, when you said to me:

"I am very fond of sunsets. Come, let us go look at a sunset now."

"But we must wait," I said.

"Wait? For what?"

"For the sunset. We must wait until it is time."

At first you seemed to be very much surprised. And then you laughed to yourself. You said to me: "I am always thinking that I am at home!"

Just so. Everybody knows that when it is noon in the United States the sun is setting over France. If you could fly to France in one minute, you could go straight into the sunset, right from noon. Unfortunately, France is too far away for that. But on your tiny planet, my little prince, all you need do is move your chair a few steps. You can see the day end and the twilight falling whenever you like . . .

"One day," you said to me, "I saw the sunset forty-four times!"

And a little later you added: "You know--one loves the sunset, when one is so sad . . ."

"Were you so sad, then?" I asked, "on the day of the forty-four sunsets?"

But the little prince made no reply.

posted by CP @ 10:23 AM 1 thoughts