The universe flares across the dome
to a collective gasp of tilted viewers
regaled with a parade of zeros
estimating distances in light years.
Venus winks seductively as Mercury
goes whizzing by. Our moon’s
craggy face glows without expression
while Mars flashes its iron-red surface.
The sight is humbling, a put-down
for our boastful ventures, we scraps
if matter hanging off the edge
of an ordinary galaxy.
Not easily cowed, I take in
the scene as a skeptic, knowing
I am a warm, beating heart
in all this cold magnificence.
Sharon Scholl is a retired college teacher who convenes a poetry critique group and maintains a website (freeprintmusic.com) of her original music compositions. Her poetry collections, Seasons, Remains, Classifieds, Ghosts, are available via Amazon Books. Her poems are currently in eMerge and Yugen Quest Review.
