Last night

Last night the stars
           in the pitch black sky
brighter than ever before
           and the space deeper
the silence too
           wondering how love
can be sustained
           over such distances
: and through the silence
            endless radio waves
from the origins of time—
           all things that have beginnings
have ends too
           even a universe is not for ever

so where does that leave love
           and how can love survive
can a kiss stretch around the moon
           can a caress rescue the faltering word
can the unutterable abyss of absence
           ever be filled : what gestures 
will bind two hearts together
           in defiance of time and space ?

John Lyons