for you

dedicated to the Hubble Space Telescope

shot up into the cosmos, eased

into an orbit around Earth

you have silently watched

as comets wag their tails

of dust and light through solitary jaunts

and you have silently watched

as stars violently die, time after time

in a luminous burst of color

and you have silently watched

as the far ends of space

beam echoes of its creation into your brain

and it is through your eyes

i first learned

that the universe is more vast

meaningful and complex

than my existence will ever be

*Published by Dear Reader on 8/12/20

Anna Pavlova

and suddenly

her arms became wings

not like the dainty ones

given to a finch

but the luxurious ones

bestowed to a swan

she was born a human

yes I know

but that word

is simply ill-fitting

for her veins

must be charged

with the breath of angels

or the melodies

that drift between

each burning star

because I can

easily assure you

she was never

fully of this earth

*Published by Dear Reader on 3/25/20

One Drop

At some point, 

in the lifespan of my soul,

I want to know what it’s like

to be one drop of rain.

To fall from the sky and splash

into a flower,

and then linger

in its luxurious core.

Perhaps I could then,

every so slowly,

like the beginning of a rollercoaster,

dive from petal to ground,

and then nestle myself deeper,

deeper, deeper

into the warmth

of an inviting earth,

simply to rest forever

in her arms.

*Published by Dear Reader on 1/15/20
**Published in the Coshocton Public Library System’s Pandemic Spring: Poems to Get Us Through on 4/2/20