by Craig Pugh

 

I looked up at the sky tonight and

craziest thing I ever saw. Leo,

rising, raised his paw and roared

scattering a slew of stars across

the universe wheeling overhead.

 

Pisces with her school of fish swam by.

Virgo slid past, swinging her scythe

and Gemini flew in and out the jewels

of Orion’s belt searching for his twin.

 

Mercury spun madly on his top dashing in

the thick and thin of Neptune’s foggy weather

before suddenly disappearing altogether.

 

Even Venus lost her bearing and went sailing

off into the rings of Saturn, getting stuck

amongst the rocks in the orbit pattern.

 

Jupiter Rex, laboring under the strangest hex

kept taking running leaps and trying to spin

but couldn’t find the right gear to put it in.

 

Meanwhile, the Big Dipper -- he’s such a sneaker

but I’m a peeker and I spied him filling his cup up

to the brim with giant scoops of comet ice-cream.

 

Then over on the side of the page I saw Aquarius

ushering in her age pouring streams of knowledge

from her urn into Eridanus, the river of stars

upon which Achernar the Viking Ship sailed past

with Vela, Carina and Volans pulling at the oars.

Up front with his hammer? You guessed it: Thor.

 

Crab scampered across to stab the sea goat

on his heel while Scorpio saw the advantage

and raced in for the kill, the noise of which

woke Mars from a nap and got him so mad

he attacked an innocently passing asteroid.

 

This made the king of beasts roar again, saying

That’s enough of that! And with a lash of his

blue-white tail, Leo knocked Mars into jail and

ordered all the stars and planets back in

the paths of their proper heavenly trails.

 

Moon rose then, blushing and full of grace.

I gazed in awe at the splendor of all I saw,

then walked back inside and went to bed.