Now You Deign To Flicker

Polaris – you bastard – all that spins
resists you now. All that walks
shall ne’er look to seek you tucked
behind a maple sway. None that walk
will look upon the sky in harsh moonlight
and cry, “Polaris, Oh, Polaris – where are you?
Tether me thus that I shall not lose my way.”

And yet you sit there – dim, lofty, higher
than I recall, but I suppose I must
have fallen, for when I longed, black,
dismembered under cloud, when I longed,
balled in piss-stained lamplight,
when I longed, long into a night,
til dawn spat rain and thunder thumped

and stripped this starling’s oily gown
of all that gave it flight – of all – all
that pinioned hope upon a star
and cast it thus upon the ground
to flutter in dismay, to grit in dirt’s
dominion, beguiled by green-eyes,
leery of red-eyes, blinded
with black-eyes – now –

Yet now, now you deign to flicker.

Image: Patrick McManaman on Unsplash