To sail the seas of endless night
this solitary ship of light
embarks upon its autumn flight.
A million nukes a second lit this spark,
but it cannot conquer the earthly dark.
Cruel distance tames the atom’s might
and makes a star a speck of white
to sail the seas of endless night.
To sail the seas of endless night,
heedless of mortals and their plight,
but bound by mass and time and light.
So small to mortal eyes in southern skies,
but still a spark can cause a lark to rise,
resolve to walk the road of light
and catch the pegasus in flight
to sail the seas of endless night.
© 2010, Andrew M. Bowen
Halfway Down the Stairs 