Nihilist Cred

The radicant radiance
Of desert mesa sunsets
Starts out spiky as yucca

Then roots around in the clouds,
Seeking purchase upside down
Before it withdraws to dark,

Leaving behind the seed lights
Of planets, stars, and jet planes,
The calm winks of satellites.

And for sunrise, the reverse,
Of course—so many days gone,
How many spins for this dirt?

Modular arithmetic
Brings everything back around
Again, so nothing’s for naught,

And no one credits how well
Nychthemeron steals it all
While always more of the same.