I’m jumping up and down on my planet

waving my arms frantically

trying to stop you as you pass by

on route to another galaxy.

you drive too fast by the way

barely

taking in different vistas

stars

supernovas

dark matter

and the like.

my waving is like tossing a rock

into Huygens Gap.

futile really.

but that’s the human spirit

for you.

never giving up hope

we are each our own galaxy

vast and unreachable

accept with our closed eyes

and our closed eyes must read

must taste and touch

our eyes must feel and listen

to the jazz

so that we can dance

forever.

i don’t want to dance on my star

to hip hop when my bones

are heavy with age

and gravity.

i want Benson, Coleman and Davis.

i want Marley, Caetano and Getz.

we will welcome those without

violence in their hearts

only a song.

vast and unreachable though it seems

we are probably but miles

not light years away from each other.

you see,

while you’ve broken speed limits

in space

i’ve been sitting at the dining table

kitchen table

bedside

living room and studio

waiting for you to show up.

the candles burn down

and I replace them

the fire burns low

and I add fuel

the food cold

the bed colder

but I keep cooking and I keep sleeping.

i keep living

sometimes with a whimper I keep vigil

other times I dance spasmodically

knowing I’ve the room

and music

to myself.

i eat, laugh and cry with friends

but they want to party at the train station

and I’d rather be in my cabin.

the air is better

and I can hear the stars

pass by.

the woods bore my friends

and make them nervous

for they can find nothing to do

with their hands

so I keep to my duties

no matter how trivial or small

i keep putting the needle on the record

no matter how decrepit my hands become

because I can always keep time

with my toes.

do not feel pity for me

i don’t pity myself

i enjoy the journey

the shame comes from

the unnatural new tone

of voice

but

the more I speak

the less shame I feel.

if you ever catch me dancing alone

don’t turn and run

don’t touch

that dial

just stop flying so fast

there is merit in what i do.

take a sip of wine on the table

and dance with me.

i’ve got a bag packed

but first

dance like a 4-year-old dances

cuz

they really know how to move.

learn to walk again

there is still time.

the sky goes on forever

and not without us

for

the scientists

say

we are star-dust

and we will go on forever too.

so lets twirl each other

under that vast and unreachable light

our bodies are just atoms after all.