A Thousand Blink

A poet once wandered the galaxies in search of beauty. One evening after sunset when the stars sparkled to greet him, he jumped, reaching his hand to the sky. It was the last moment his feet were ever to touch the earth.

Appearing in the night like a shooting star, he delved into galaxies, traversed the nebulae and caressed the stars. But, the beauty he sought faded upon reach as though he was chasing his own shadow: always near but forever distant.

Each time he blinked an eye, a year was taken away and slowly, he withered into old age. A thousand times he blinked, he was reduced to nothing but a palmful of stardust. He scattered the dark sky with constellations of inspiring beauty, heralding the flight of poets for thousands of years.

End.


Image of Orion Nebula by Hubble Space Telescope.