Death of a Red SuperGiant

by Arlene Ang

He collapsed before dawn
in back-alley space, a supernova
of codeine and hard liquor.

The explosion went unnoticed
save by a tourist admiring
city view through hotel curtains.

The universe remained unchanged;
nebulae of mourners around
dead mass excite only astronomers.

Tears formed a hot-gas spiral
around event horizon before inevitably
toppling into his black hole.

Copyright © 2005, Arlene Ang

Arlene Ang lives in Venice, Italy where she edits the Italian pages of Niederngasse. Her poetry has recently been published in Tattoo Highway, flashquake, The Dublin Quarterly, Ghoti Magazine and Softblow Poetry Journal. Three of her poems have been nominated for the 2006 Pushcart Prize anthology.