JOHNMICHAEL SIMON POETRY

There’s a pain in my cosmos

it’s just left of the point

where Jupiter’s orbit bisects

the web of stars that expands and contracts

when I breathe or think of you.

 

Or of all the other children I’ve lost

golden hair spun like rays

from far-off galaxies with names

I’ve forgotten as my memory dulls

spins off and vanishes into nothingness.

 

But especially you, beloved point of

reference, fixed source of light

your laughter remembered even

in the darkest night, illuminating

this gloom of forgetfulness.

 

That is slowly obscuring my vision

slowing my thoughts

as inertia overtakes me

even the whirling slowing

everything freezing, becoming motionless

until all that remains

is this image of you, dream child

all lit up with the fire

of eternal youth.

 

Waiting for something new

beyond comprehension

to unite us once again.