In order to view this poem with the line breaks the author intended, we suggest reading it on a computer screen or in landscape orientation on your phone or tablet.

At the Planetarium

The universe flares across the dome
to a collective gasp of tilted viewers

regaled with a parade of zeros
estimating distances in light years.

Venus winks seductively as Mercury
goes whizzing by. Our moon’s

craggy face glows without expression
while Mars flashes its iron-red surface.

The sight is humbling, a put-down
for our boastful ventures, we scraps

of matter hanging off the edge
of an ordinary galaxy.

Not easily cowed, I take in
the scene as a skeptic, knowing

I am a warm, beating heart
in all this cold magnificence.

—
Sharon Scholl is a retired college teacher who convenes a poetry critique group. At an advanced age (93) she is active, creative, and lots of fun. Her poetry books include Remains, Seasons, Classifieds, and Ghosts. Her poems currently appear in eMerge Magazine and Yugen Quest Review.

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