That when stars die
there should be sadness
is misunderstanding,
thematic breakage,
sophomoric trap,
error of cosmic intent
justice, closure or circle --
that all things must die
even after 10B years
O Polaris of Cassiopea
formed of dust
or you, Sun, mistaken god
your red giant phase
coming with its clumsy script
to immolate
with impolite catastrophe
all sunny days ever
seen by this varietal of eye
& with no light escaping from it
erasing every glimmer
of residual regret
yet still the absurd sadness
drifts as cosmic dust
in the homunculus
across light years
sensing the angst
of hydrogen-starved privation.
The unaided eye thinks itself
perfectly capable of seeing
thermonuclear disappearance
the fastidiousness of mass loss, of erasure
cleansing the galaxy of newborns, Redwoods,
even the sign promising the distance to Darwin's ferry
across the noosphere to the Saturn V museum.
Which is why on planning an escape to Fomalhaut
we see fish in the southern sky
& feel vertigo at the taste of annihilation on the vine.
3 April 2012
Virtually all of the elements in the universe that are heavier than hydrogen and helium are created in the interiors of stars.
These elements are then dispersed into space by supernova explosions or by less spectacular processes collectively known as mass loss.