Beyond Planet's Breadth
—inspired by Rebecca Elson, 1960-1999
by Marcel Aime Duclos

Geese fly low beyond the spruce.
Mountain air trembles,
awaits morning glow.

I voyage beyond this galaxy.
Bedroom yields its darkness
to our star.

Frail, minuscule my mind.
Speck of time and space
on an unending ride.

Rebecca, you tell us
to eat the stars to melt
our fear of death.

You hold our hand.
Reach for the light.
Reveal our dark matter.

You are the fig tree in the garden poem
hiding nothing,
revealing every curve.

The spider hides its work,
joins with the crab
out of sight.

The ocean of the universe
seduces you to its limits,
pulses your sea.

You grieve work unfinished.
the swells pull you into a distant dance
before the music ends.

Dear astronomer-poet,
you are a psalm of praise.
You wake us into awe.




A Responsibility to Awe, Carcanet Press Limited, 2001

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