Convergence
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn
line up every 62 years.
In cold, crisp May we reject our early bedtime
to see planets dance, to feel the depth of the universe.
Sleep disturbances, restless children,
new forms of music at the Planetarium,
photographs from Hubble in the newspaper,
witness the movement of the heavens.
Two who once hurled painful words
or suffered in silence for months
now stand in solidarity,
each grateful for the other.
All strife aside, we intersect at this moment,
mother and daughter stand in awe,
use binoculars for failing eyes,
know we won’t be together for the next one.
This poem was first published in the Journal of Modern Poetry, Volume 20, April 2017