COMET

                                                                   Beware of happenstance

The night is young and sweet
I’m innocent and
on the prowl
seeking out celestial bodies
There’s excitement in the air
and random noises

The school of hard knocks
from which I hope to someday
finally graduate
committed to
learning one lesson at a time
with some remediation

Out beneath
a marvelous sky
excitement in the midnight air
Standing in mud
looking for the once in a lifetime comet
to fall or shoot
whatever it is they do
with much fanfare and tail blazing ballyhoo
Looking up
transfixed and full of faith
and wonder
not watching where I am going
Oops!
Embarrassed now to be
falling myself
unannounced to earth   all akimbo  and colliding
a total wreck
These hard knocks
these precious moments
These dirty predicaments
and small epiphanies
about the grand scheme
and the countless obstacles to
ever pulling it off
suddenly getting
a solid, unforgiving dose
of gravity
to experience                           to ponder
grasping suddenly its true nature    (consequences)
Missing the show
but seeing my own stars come out
and glitter
catching an elusive glimpse of oblivion.

JANUARY 6, 1998