bashō

 

winter galaxy—
pricks of light through a forest
of dark matter
firing up
the slings and arrows
a matchstick
without number or purpose
angels dance on a pinhead
quickens with foxfire
over the icy mountain
with unbearable lightness
the cottonwood drifts
far from the river
snow flurries
obscure visual markers
of distance
beyond the chasms of sight
a star goes supernova
between desire and spasm
a lengthening shadow
as consciousness blooms
in ever expanding waves
of time eternal
engenders
with a white rush
the divine seed
out of the blue some creature
blurts out a theory of everything
the beauty of a thing
in the shape of its absence
only it isn’t
ever just quite the way
we wanted it to be
with a glance
a thousand ships are launched
into history
a stranded jellyfish
spills over from its mould
the sparkle of starlight
in the vast's empty corners
the sum of all
we thought we’d left behind
roadside nettles
the cosmos
reduced to an artificial
intelligence

 

Clayton Beach 
Stephen Bailey