Our beautiful country spoils us with the blues that surround us, from that blue sky above to the blue sea that stretches far away into the horizon.
Go to sleep, baby. Mama will sing
Of blue butterflies, and dragonfly wings.
Moonlight and sunbeams, raiments so fine.
Silver and gold, for baby of mine.
– Kim Harrison, “Black Magic Sanction”
What do you say when your child asks you, “Why is the sky blue?”
NASA would answer, “Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth’s atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.”
But when you have a baby in your arms, and you stand under that same blue sky, you wouldn’t think of molecules and waves. You’d think, “It is blue because that’s the color of the tranquility I feel holding this tiny being close to my heart. It’s the peace that envelops me when this small body snuggling against mine speaks of trust. It is blue because that’s the color of heaven, the place I am in. Right here. Right now.”
How much do I love you?
I’ll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
– Irving Berlin, “How Deep is the Ocean”
