after “The Meteor of 1860” (1860) by Frederic Edwin Church

Everything that we know comes to this earth
is dead.

Maybe the shining are gods
when they visit someplace else.

When they come to us,
we die too.

Everything that I know comes from this earth
lives.

So desperate to shine in earth’s reflection
is the sun going through the moon

to the water
to get to you.

first published in FULL MOOD MAG