Stars

     Tonight, as I was out walking under the stars, I noticed a large, bright red sphere in the sky.  I automatically assumed that it was a satelite, or some such thing, until it suddenly formed a downward arc, and vanished in a flame-like flash.
     Apparently, there have been several meteor showers lately, resulting from the recent passing of Halley's Comet. 
     Falling stars I've seen in plenty, but I have never seen so large a meteor, and therefore was excessively diverted.
     I continued walking, never taking my eyes off the stars, hoping to see more.  The stars seemed especially bright tonight, flickering like candles in the vast expanse of sky.  My eyes played tricks on me; every star seemed to move, and I would stare at them with all my might, expecting them to vanish at any moment.
     A dozen references to the stars comes to mind at such times; John Keat's poem Bright Star, for instance - "Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art; not in lone splendour hung aloft the night, and watching with eternal lids apart".  Another would be the song Stars from Les Misérables.  I could just hear Inspector Javert comparing the stars to sentinels, "filling the darkness with order and light".  Yet another is a scripture in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 which says - Star differs from star in glory".  Which is absolutely true.  Though there is an inconceivable amount of stars, not one of them is quite the same as another.