Astropoetica: Comet, by John Bennett

Comet McNaught I wanted to see the comet
I wanted to see the chunk of
Whatever
From the light years of
Wherever
I wanted to look up at 63rd and Lexington
To see unbearable light
Looking back at me
I wanted to see ten million miles
Of dust and vapor
Spread from Arcturus to Aldebaran
    Before cloud covers the Jersey Meadowlands
    Before fog rolls over Rockaway
    Before sea serpents browse below Verrazano

Calpurnia looked up
On the Ides of March
and saw the stella cometa
But the Senate could not wait

King Harold watched
The hairy star chase the moon
Over Hastings
And knew the Norman was coming

I wanted to see the comet
I wanted to see dark portents
Of breached battlements
Of captured castles
I wanted to look up through
Rain and Dawn
    Before my photograph gathers dust
        in my grandson's attic
    Before glaciers retrace
        the Mohawk and Hudson

John Bennett was born in England. He came to the USA and worked as an ambulance EMT. He has taken classes in Creative Writing and Comparative Literature at New York University.