Star Sequence | Part II.

This poem is actually the oldest in the Star Sequence collection. The middle poem of three called Star Sequence and obviously the inspiration for the rest. I was cramming for an astronomy final while listening to, what else, eine Kliene Nachtmusik, when the words for this just started to fill my mind. I spent the rest of the evening getting it just right instead of studying. Miraculously, I somehow did well on the final too. So I consider this one the poem that keeps on giving. I credit it with that good grade in Astronomy and also giving me this book. As always, all suggestions welcomed. § PB

II.

Romanze: Nachtmusik

In my nights alone I watch the stars turn
on their liquid centers. Mars begins, loops
and begins again; the dizziness excites me.
A broken orbit, a comet dropping out of view

to return a hundred years later. I count comets
in the spring for signs of flood, observe
the Pleiades. The correlations stand.
Mars' polar cap melts, changes hemisphere,

promises rain for New England. The moon rises,
embraces Castor. My eye pressed against the glass,
I listen to them converse across the light,
note the increase in phase. My fingers burn

like comets falling, exploring Cygnus on my charts.
Eine kleine Nachtmusik plays, the allegro
is just beginning, the inferior planets are staccato.
Ether and ellipsis pulled from the night air,

an astronomer's dream of stars
exploding in harmonious lines. Kepler's theory
fills my mouth with stale bread, the time tables
hang planets from our watch chains. I plot

the descent of Venus and our lady, the moon.
Gripping the eyepiece, I take one more sip
of morning coffee and touch the lens
where the sun forces fire through the glass.