? Discarded sketches of distraction

      Discarded sketches of distraction

   *

A mere two hundred light years
to the star as old as the universe.
The simple life of a star
transmuting elements
unquestioned light
-- the magic of a firefly
meandering in the night sky.
Two hundred billion stars,
a scattering of ten shapes.
The firefly, one of
four hundred thousand beetles.

   *

In a story by Greg Egan
tachyonauts travel upstream time
to unleave traces they have found

   *

How have the presence to avoid mistakes.
How to flow efficiently through the tasks.
How to orient oneself by evidence,
adjust the course by pulling the core strings.
The sky teases rain, and I run back
for the forgotten apparel.
If I keep running, the sky may forgive.

   *

How to avoid the ugly sirens,
how to ignore the dreary tugs,
how to sail past itches
and clear the YouTube straits, the Facebook sands.

Find a narrow door with a smooth frame,
slide a leg up, push your back flat, relax.