Streetlights

December 9, 2025

Last night, unable to sleep, I stepped out onto the balcony of my Melbourne apartment. For a few moments, there was blissful, mesmerising peace.

I know it's probably not all that popular of an opinion on the small web, but modern cities can be beautiful things. Streetlights pepper the dark of night like stars, more brilliant and yet not so powerful as to overcome the night. In their faint glow, the unrestrained architectural variation of the rugged streetscape stretches into a majestic silhouette, even smaller lights darting to and fro across its expanse. Though the city never sleeps, the cover of darkness offers some reprieve from the cacophony of traffic, an imitation of stillness in the midst of this living, breathing sea of humanity.

Day breaks now, bringing forth buildings from the shadows in all their varied and unvarnished glory. The city sleeps a few tranquil moments more, the air filling with birdsong amidst the quiet.

It's certainly not the humbling beauty of the unmitigated natural world, but the city possesses a beauty of its own.