Comet
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“Comet” is one of a pair of poems under the title, “Two Poems About Fleeting Objects.” The collection, “Two Poems About,” 50 sets of paired poems, is in the final stages of writing and editing.
The comet is disappointing.
They promised, this time,
Bright and true, in daylight,
We’d see a trail half across
A bewildered sky.
This was going to be
Proof that things
Will never stay the same,
That life will always be
Interruption and spectacle.
Nature intruding on boring
Expectations. Nah.
That little smudge
Was all we got,
A fuzzy streak of shame
To all our hopes that now,
Finally, this would be true.
It would be real. Something seen
Like nothing else. Touching
All of us in our shriven hearts
So long in hopelessness. No.
It faded even from the slight
Suggestion of a glory
That would taste so sweet.
A freedom of the spirit to
Dream, awaking the near
Forgotten happiness
That was, once, so easier
To summon, a streaking comet
Of joy. This was the truth
That came for us, came for all of us.
Want more out of this world pieces? Check out some of these!
- Midnight Burger — The Podcast at the End of the Universe and One of Its Reviews – Podcast Review
- The Horizon Signal (Stellaris) – Positivity Corner
- The 10 Best Classic Science Fiction Books Ever – Book List
- Sentient: When We Stopped Looking for Ourselves – Science Fiction Prose
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Stephen M.H. Braitman
Stephen M.H. Braitman wrote his first poem at age 12 and he hasn’t stopped since. He received his B.A. in Poetry at UC Berkeley, and studied poetry as an M.A. student at SF State. Some of his publication credits include Aspects, Panache, Insight, New: American/Canadian Poetry, American Magazine, Renascence, Outlet, Humanitas, Quixote, and even a magazine by the Psychedelic Venus Church. He has published three issues of his own science fiction magazine, Out There, and, years ago, a self-published collection of his poetry.
To read more from Stephen, find him on Facebook.
