Diane Wakoski

 

In This Galaxy

         by Diane Wakoski

I looked for
a man who knew the temperatures
of stars;    one
who
could draw rings around Saturn with a fine pen
and would sleep with me
as if a shower of meteors was a common occurrence
around the bed each night.

But love
and science — they are both gambles;
and if you try to win
the sun’s light,
                      you must be prepared also
to lose every
                    day.

 

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 PS from Phoebe:

It reminds me of something my mother told me

that her mother said when one of the daughters was dying

of typhoid.

 

My Russian grandmother wasn't much of a mother.

When the older sister was dying, she

didn't want to see their mother. She didn't love her.

Grandmother said:

What never made you laugh, will never make you cry.