river of stars
bridging ocean
and heavens
his ten thousand journeys
in this great blue world
once he dreamed
of being an astronaut
the first to Mars . . .
one turn led to another
and now he just dreams
a trail
of cabbage whites
across the meadow
cut grasses
will sprout again
quiet now
as the swing soars
higher and higher
he plots the moment
to jump
one by one
a thousand colors
are set free
into the vesper wind
a mockingbird sings
through all the seasons
it always comes to this:
the persimmon
blanketing the yard
with the last of its leaves
(The title comes from the poem of the same name by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which was first published in 1912.)