there’s some program
in which chosen poets
have a chance to write a poem
that is engraved on a rocket
or some such space faring thing
and is sent into the sky
beyond our planet
to float in the blackness
and one day perhaps be read
by alien eyes
or to fall back to earth
in however many years
and be read by eyes
much like our own
but who have been part of lives
which would be alien to us
I am not yet one of these poets
tasked with choosing words
to be shot out into infinity
to outlive us all
what a concept
what a challenge
although as I think
about this more
all my poems
are some small version of this
an attempt at immortality
and in each of them
I try to speak
to what it means
to be a human today
I try to speak to
how it feels to be alive
for example this morning
as I try to ignore the news
which makes it feel
like the world is falling apart
I go outside
and look out at the clouds
on the horizon
they are perfect
the definition of clouds
billowed and puffy and white
and through looking out
at the sky
for a moment I am
calm and full and peaceful
but I’m distracted by a phone call
and I go back inside
and then I have to continue
my chores and my life
I have an overdue credit card bill
I have to make dinner
and I miss the person I love
even though they
are on their way home from work
this is a brief moment on earth
in the year 2025
this is an imperfect poem
from an imperfect person
from an imperfect world
but maybe it is enough
to rocket out
beyond the planet
maybe it is enough
to live forever
this little moment
I had with the sky