The Unfinished Map of the Sky
by G. O. Clark
Photos
of the Moon,
planets, nebula, and galaxies
hang upon the wall, obscured by
a fresh layer of dust.
Beneath them — atop a
cold hotplate — the tea kettle no longer
whistles, a delicate spiderweb
crosshatching its spout.
And under a white sheet,
the Celestron telescope stands forgotten,
like a stick of cottage furniture with
no more summers to share.
Outside the night is crystal
clear and chilly, the stars brightly
pulsating, still dumbly beckoning to
his once curious eye,
but this old astronomer has
left his lens behind — his atoms hitching
a ride upon the cosmic breeze,
rejoining the universe — and
those who once knew him,
have shared their goodbyes, heads
bowed to the earth, backs turned to the
unfinished map of the sky.
First published in A Box Full Of Alien Skies, Dark Regions Press
Copyright © 2001, G. O. Clark
Image Credit: Aurora, by Doug Bowman, some rights reserved
G. O. Clark lives in Davis, CA and works in a university library. His poems have seen print in Asimov's Science Fiction, Talebones, Space & Time, and many other magazines and anthologies. His books of poetry include, A Box Full Of Alien Skies, The Other Side Of The Lens, and Bone Sprockets, all published by Dark Regions Press. Check out his new web page at http://hometown.aol.com/goclarkpoetry/clark.html.