chagall backdrop

From a tilt ship
there’s heaven aslant
etched in the portal pane:

Orion on its head,
his belt instead a choker,

the Southern Cross a sword
with just a dash of hilt,

Big Bear on her back
for tickles,

and Aries with horns
in the ground.

I wonder how silence
can pervade a world
so large, a universe
so vast.

Maybe I’ve just grown cold,
lost in the draw
of this vacuum.

Reentry back to earth
was always hard

but now face down
at high speeds to blue

I find it
the saddest part
too.

© Chagall, 2013