Convincing Heavens
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the young are never patient
but when all were few and the few died young
the stubborn weight of rock and stone
must have persuaded
nights of solstice, nights of equinox
must be sensed and charted and confirmed
with care and caution
long before henges are budged from quarries
sketches of pyramids and sundials
must be divined and debated
reconciled with the drifting sparks of sky seasons
long before timber and ramp
test muscle and bone
the astonished, the indifferent
beguiled by the guardians of posterity and awe
dragged creeds
by song and chant across fields and generations
when ampersands were rare
some wise to the intuition that nothing born of our constellations
not an opal alive to a newborn
not a headstone making cemetery shade
ever comes to a rest
others sure
our cornerstones of convincing heavens
could stand and compass
amulets declaring their gravity and allegiance
against any reckoning time
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