We know how stars divide,
How atoms race and run,
How the first explosion
Sent the planets hurtling.
How there is a maw in the spheres,
Lurking to swallow everything.
And miss the small perfection
Of a bird alighting,
Dilettante butterfly,
The oak over the river
Sheltering the sensitive fish.
And sometimes
If we fold ourselves
Into that quiet and wait,
The Other comes,
Touching us with madness
And certitude.
