The Explainer

Venus rising in the East, Mars
Setting in the West, Orion
Hunting the Southern Sky. Moonless.

I doubt most of the commuters
Out on the highway this morning,
Notice any of this. That’s why

I’m here for them, their Explainer.
I don’t see anything human
About it, this cosmos, although

Humanity, obviously
Popped out from possibility.
How shall I explain this wisely?

Astrologers paid attention
To the lights, their patterned movements,
Any matched happenings on Earth,

And where did that get us, beyond
Excuses for violent men,
Chiliastic hysterias,

And silly newspaper nonsense
About what today will be like
For humanity, sliced by twelfths?

Oh, yes, I guess—astronomy,
And, eventually, physics,
Calculus, moon landings, space probes. . .

It may pay to pay attention,
But not in your lifetime. It takes
Generations, millenniums,

And so long as observations
Keep going, you should keep going
To work. Someone will explain things.