Payton
Precious little girl,All the world stopped when you came.Yesterday's trifling matters fadedTo the tune of today's gentle lullaby.On tomorrow's dawn, a promise:No one will know as much love as you.
Black Hole
I traveled to the center of the Galaxy
In search of unearthly brilliance
Imbibed each incredible wonder
And marveled at galactic resilience
I weathered the storms of Jupiter
And examined Saturn’s rings
Then caught a ride on a comet’s tail
To see more wondrous things
I traced the belt of Orion
Took a detour around his waist
Got caught in the dusty nebula
Before swinging off to space
Saw our neighbor Andromeda
Gaped in wonderment from afar
Noted the swirling of her arms
And the splendor of each star
Countless, immeasurable lightyears
I made my journey through
And as stellar bodies parted
I peered within where exists no hue
Stories of grandeur, light, and magic
Of this mystical place been told
Yet no one had returned to tell truth
Of what before me would unfold
I had reached the Milky Way’s middle
Not knowing what would be found
Stared down the precipice into nothing
Crushing and dense, darkness abound
Finally here at my voyage’s end
I feel gravity tug and pull at my soul
Falling, I spiral through dark and light
Into a
supermassive
black
hole
.
Let's Sit in the Rain
Heavy rain showers expected tonight,
Take measures to protect from the storm.
Heeding the weatherman's warning, I
perused the rack for protection of some form:
"The Micro-Umbrella. Easy compact storage,
but amazingly folds out to be Full Size!
Yours for just – twenty-two dollars.
Full-sized protection in a mini-sized guise."
Ridiculous. For twenty-two bucks,
The thing should not only shield from the wet,
but also from bullets and cancer, bad days,
bad nights, heartache and regret…
The Micro-Umbrella is lacking.
Dreading the damp, miserable afternoon,
I can feel the slashing wind's onslaught,
the moistening air, telling of the coming storm.
Just another to add to battles being fought.
Temporary escape comes from the shelter
of the store with its ridiculous umbrella rack,
which I scowl at now, and as it drizzles outside,
I curse at the rain and the umbrella I put back.
I am going to get wet. Thinking of the inevitable
pant leg soaking, dripping, wretched, vile—
Buy it —a familiar voice. A friendly face.
But it's twenty-two bucks, I smile.
It's been a while.
Twenty-two bucks. He is shocked, as shocked
as I about the price and thinking it insane.
If only the Micro-Umbrella had special powers.
Forget it. You've got a hood. Enjoy the rain.
Alright, forgotten. Talk with me. I've missed you.
Out we go, my friend and I, we need no protection.
Escaping into the moist air and brilliant gloom,
the mist envelops us without our objection.
Let's sit in the rain, he says, as the breeze hits us.
And not minding so much anymore that it's wet,
I sit with good company and we talk for a while
as my troubles I momentarily forget
and the rain falls all around.