There at opposition as the sun sets,
Jupiter rises, then falls with solar
ascent. And now I observe our planets—
you and I—how we lift and drop, polar
bodies rarely in sync, lodestones rolling
awry seeking drama not comedy,
war not peace, sacred temple bells tolling
our slow demise. Hear their sad melody?
I don’t ask you this aloud. Only hold
you close, monk-silent, watching Jupiter
over Ephesus this full-moon night, cold
pushed away by our caress, junipers
blocking chilling wind here at Hadrian’s
temple, its crumbling pillars our omen.
Roger Armbrust
July 17, 2008
