This poem was published in the print journal Zone 3. I wrote it back when I often read a very simple non-fiction book to my young son at night before bed. He was fascinated with the book, and I'd reflect on it alone early in the mornings while walking our dog.
Preschool Astronomy Book
The book we read last night
drew grid lines on the sky,
and now you'll never unsee
those dots arranged—you know Orion
and Ursa Major, Little Dipper
and a word you'll love
for light years: Cassiopeia. You say
The sky is an epic ceiling over our heads.
You ask me What is affection?
Now I can't walk the dog without thinking
Sirius. We read it again in your bed
and your head is heavy on me.
Above our roof Leo is looped
like Christmas lights and nailed
in place for spring. Taurus did it
when you were sleeping. See,
he is winking at you.
We look up zodiac and find
it's simply a belt of the heavens,
and I think, yes, that explains everything.
Published in Zone 3, Volume 35, No. 2.