Jupiter and Venus Conjunction. Image credit Kevin Jung.
We smile at astrological hopes
And leave the sky to expert men
Who do not reckon horoscopes
But painfully extend their ken
In mathematical debate
With slide and photographic plate.
And yet, protest it if we will,
Some corner of the mind retains
The medieval man, who still
Keeps watch upon those starry skeins
And drives us out of doors at night
To gaze at anagrams of light.
Whatever register or law
Is drawn in digits for these two,
Venus and Jupiter keep their awe,
Wardens of brilliance, as they do
Their dual circuit of the west-
The brightest planet and her guest.
Is any light so proudly thrust
From darkness on our lifted faces
A sign of something we can trust,
Or is it that in starry places
We see things we long to see
In fiery iconography?
Rich, Adrienne. Collected Early Poems, 1950-1970. New York: Norton, 1993. p. 54.
Photo found on this great site.
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The conjunction of Jupiter and Venus was the brightest it has been in the Chicago sky for years. Â The viewing of such a beautiful astronomical event in my adopted metropolis was an almost sacred experience for me, transporting me from my urban prison to the wild, rolling hills locked deep in my memory.
vide stellae 
Great poem, from a 1951 book. I suppose we could figure out when this conjunction was and determine the date of the composition of (or inspiration for) the poem.