Monday, December 21, 2009

Feeling Mortal

Going to Bed

by George Bilgere

I check the locks on the front door
and the side door,
make sure the windows are closed
and the heat dialed down.
I switch off the computer,
turn off the living room lights.

I let in the cats.

Reverently, I unplug the Christmas tree,
leaving Christ and the little animals
in the dark.

The last thing I do
is step out to the back yard
for a quick look at the Milky Way.

The stars are halogen-blue.
The constellations, whose names
I have long since forgotten,
look down anonymously,
and the whole galaxy
is cartwheeling in silence through the night.

Everything seems to be ok.

4 comments:

jenn said...

Absolutely lovely. "The stars are halogen-blue" = perfection.

Thank you.

Irene said...

Thank you for that poem, that's as honest as they come.

Rima said...

George Bilgere! He taught in the English dept. where I got my degree. Small world . . . or not.

The Other Laura said...

I love George Bilgere. The Good Kiss is one of my favorite books ever. I met him when we were at Oberlin College and he's just a wonderful human being.