The Big Dipper

Joseph Geskey

  The insomniac sits alone
                                 on the front porch looking
                               at the night sky for relief
                            from earthbound anxieties
                         & locates The Big Dipper,
                       associated with a funeral
                      procession in Arabic folklore.
                              He spots an oriole departing
                                     a maple tree under the star
                                           of Merak, the bottom edge
                                                   of the bowl before flying
                                                        in a parabola to Dubhe 
                                                              at the top edge, then reaching                        

                                                              Megrez in a straight line, 
                                                          flying parabolically again
                                                    to the distant tip of the handle,
                                              Alkaid, ascending to Amizar,
                                        then Alioth, & through Megrez
                                 down to Phecda before returning
                          home under the light of Merak.
                      I give praise to the oriole 
                    for allowing me, in my sixth decade,
                     to retrace the stars in the night sky
                      despite the increasing reminders
                        of senescent cells and the laws 
                           of gravity that distance our prayers,
                             & why we need poets wandering
                               with pastors, physicists, 
                                  & astronomers late at night 
                                    searching among the stars.

The Science

This poem draws an imaginary infinity symbol from the perspective of tracing a bird's flight on a night when the Big Dipper is visible and gives praise to the democracy of the night sky and how it is open for everyone to continue their search for knowledge, faith, or inspiration.

The Poet

Joseph Geskey lives in Dublin, Ohio. His second book of poetry, Vigil, will be published by Broken Tribe Press. His poetry has appeared in Verse Daily, Tar River Poetry, The Dodge, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, and many other literary journals. Please visit josephgeskey.com for further details.

Next poem: The Grand Hotel Infini is closed tonight by Corrado Nai