Lingering Images of Dead Spacemen
by John Grey
A movie screens
in a forest of stars,
Foreheads float in Canis Major.
Cowlicks sweep across Cignus.
The great bear's growl
intimidates a school of lips.
Orion dons the thin gauze of a helmet.
The lion half-devours umbilical cords
of ancient ships.
Water-carriers bear eyes into the void.
And what's that gray and silver flag
flapping from the horn of Taurus?
Shreds of an old suit protecting nothing
but memories from the breathless chill.
Does that wisp of light have a name?
What's the story on that shard of tongue?
Quick, before the clouds roll in,
who are the phantoms of Scorpio?
The shades of Aquarius?
But the clouds do roll in...
nimbus, cirrus, stratus,
puffs of dark or white,
intermittent shine,
feathery cabin,
cockpits of glow,
lingering images of dead airmen.
© 2008 John Grey
John Grey's latest book is “What Else Is
There” from Main Street Rag. He has been published recently
in Agni, Worcester Review, South Carolina Review and The Pedestal.
Find more by John Grey in the Author Index.
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