Astronomical Observations

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I.

Cosmology theory holds that

The solar system, stars,

Nebulae, and even galaxies

Coalesced from unimaginably

Vast clouds of dust. So

When it looks as if

My own small living space

May begin to swirl into

A dull gray vortex and

Collapse into a whirling clot

Of thickening gravity and

Ever-rising density that

Will soon reach critical mass

And ignite into yet another

Minor sun, I guess it’s

About time for housecleaning.

II.

It is said that if all

Hoarded copies of Geographic

Were gathered at one site

The resulting mass would

Unbalance the earth and

Send it wobbling into

A new orbit. Observing this,

Jovian astronomers would

Doubtless attribute the

Anomaly to the sudden and

Inexplicable appearance of

The Great Yellow Spot.

Henry D.M. Sherrerd Jr. has been a mapmaker, outboard-motor mechanic, bartender, military data analyst, technical writer and screenwriter, among other occupations. He attended Bowdoin College and later the University of Maine, where he won awards for his poetry in the 1970s. He lives in Dexter.

Uni-Verse offers a poem grown from the experience of Maine twice a month in Monday’s Lifestyle pages. Brief poems on a Maine-related theme may be submitted for consideration to poetry@bangordailynews.net or mailed to Dana Wilde, Uni-Verse editor, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04401.