by Harry Calhoun
Light being what it is, immutable, and we know
how long it takes us to notice anything
changing, and we should know how long
it usually takes for anything to change.
So we should be amazed to see
something that no longer exists?
We're not talking dinosaurs here,
or ghosts, or gasoline at nineteen point nine
a gallon. Look up at that canopy
the pine trees in your back yard hold up tonight
and see Lord knows how many stars
gone nova and not really there
any more. And others whose demise
is light years in the future, like an aneurysm
bubbling somewhere in your brain,
cozy as comfort but a universe away.
Keep looking at all those stars
as if they are all still here
not fading slowly into
something else