Stargazing in a Time of Plague
 
Usually, I tip my head up to the stars,
flare my nostrils and suck them in,
startling and heady.
 
Normally, I let their enormity fill me,
tripping on great shocks of distance,
my veins thudding in awe.
 
Tonight, I cannot so much as look at them,
with their extravagant timespans
and their crass wisdom.
 
Tonight, they are wilfully goading me
because they know how I will break
and when.

Nina Parmenter

 
If you have any thoughts on this poem,  Nina Parmenter would be pleased to hear them.