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| The thin waxing crescent moon and dazzling planet Venus make for a gorgeous evening couple on September 8. Image source: EarthSky. |
Hear that? you ask.
Hear what? I say.
Both of us look,
but only you see
the fuzzy gray silhouette
of a bombed building.
Nothing matters
and nothing connects.
The torn gum wrappers
are one small hint.
Elderly tourists
covered in cameras
are another.
You must have been thinking
of a different country,
somewhere where they cut
the sugar cane by hand.
It isn’t until later,
while I’m still shaking my head
at your question,
that the sky bangs shut.
I used to love the dark
or just after,
when there’s no longer
a near and a far
and what may really only
be planets look like stars.
Howie Good, a journalism professor at SUNY New Paltz, is the author of five poetry collections, most recently Cryptic Endearments from Knives Forks & Spoons Press. He has a number of chapbooks forthcoming, including Elephant Gun from Dog on a Chain Press. His poetry has been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net anthology. goodh51(at)gmail.com.