stopped to look at Orion briefly

I stood on the street and looked into the quiet night sky

and wondered how many more years would pass

before I might be filled with

wonder

once again

 

and remembering how small all of us are

and how quickly all of this goes

I gave up on today

but Just For Today, I told myself

these defeats run deep

and corrupt slowly, over time

 

it’s hard to be careful

and to know the lengths

to which we can go

before the rust has broken through

and ruined what

we waited so long to build