Something on a Night When No Stars are Visible

Grab a Seat

I'm told there's a rodeo going

in galaxies nearby. I didn't know

we're in the audience. If that's 

what cosmic witnesses are . . . 

an audience? The cowboys have 

gravity ropes, and the horses 

are comets. The stars jab like spurs, 

and the crazed beasts are invisible 

(which might explain why

they're so furious). Oracles 

pinned to the lenses of telescopes 

report the results. Last month 

a planet was tied down 

in a cloud of interstellar dust. 

At this rate the contest will go on 

for eons, and who'll ever know 

if a binary system proves the champion? 

Let's just take our time driving 

this old pickup through the prairie

. . . it's a long shot to navigate, 

and there's not much point 

getting to town till 

the bar's open.