Messier 11, Gottfried Kirch, 1681

    On a night such as
    this one -- the waning
    crescent dropped
    down in the West
    -- cartographers do
    their deepest work:
    right ascension,
    declination -- and
    the heart hunts
    its dark field.
    Wild ducks sweep
    out of the far
    and cold, warming
    your face, your
    breathing, my hand
    on your shoulder,
    this ache.

                      for Mary