January 1986
we wait for the evening to rise
covering the sky
a black valley tucked
between mountain
and mountain
there is a secret
waiting for revelation
hidden beneath the horizon
so we watch–, stomping our feet
in the cold January stillness
cradled within the fingers
long bones of the Appalachians
while the night sky
joins the mountain ranges
forming a skin of stars
let us calculate
the ordinals and declinations
degrees and minutes
compensating for the
spin of earth
we will chart
the gravitational pathway
and look for the signs
the periodic return
of Halley’s comet
our youngest child
lies cradled and unknown
a secret within me
while the eldest looks
out of the corner of her eye
some secrets can’t be seen straight on
some secrets are revealed
by a soft glancing view
we each try to understand this
as the comet slowly approaches
dimly the promise arrives
soaring along a pre-ordained pathway
look just there above that tree
darkness within darkness
secrets are waiting to be found
Pamela Olson, 3/14/09
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