What Interests Me

what interests me in science is observation,

wistful watching,

languid and lethargic

like plumeria scented 

summer-warm evening air.

considering, with curiosity,

suns called stars

and their radiant offspring

teasing out identity in the dark

in a multitude of mythical 

concocted constellations.

I enjoy the confidential intimacy

of the delinquency of starlight.

knowing, in truth, the light’s a lie. 

that what I currently see

is light unveiled from eons ago 

marvelous spectral disciples 

that travel only outward

tiptoeing into infinity 

at three hundred million meters per second 

with such enviable tenacity 

in artful evasion of connection

to its luminous debut.

leaving me to see

this connect-the-dots celestial tapestry,

dust-embroidered myths 

of gods and goddesses,

objects and beliefs.

folly perhaps

or fairy tale wisdom

to align mythologies

to earthly agonies. 

my solace is to favor 

Joni’s notion from ’69 - 

to be golden, to be stardust

akin to billion-year-old carbon

crafting bargains

with angels or devils 

or whoever cares 

to listen to me grieve

that maybe we are 

just illusions of ecstasy

and what endures is
love, death, and other fantasies.

—Ed Sancious