THE STARS WILL WELCOME YOU, BROTHER – a poem by Marc Janssen

THE STARS WILL WELCOME YOU, BROTHER

In the tear tuned lustrous night
When water is blood softly hammering in the earth’s old veins
And dew sobs into the bone end of hours like a lullaby.
I am the smallest note, the quietest, in this unsung magnificat.

Light calls from behind the cirrus curtain
Muted moon
Alto comets
Plastic satellites synchronize their electronic pulses to four four
Sweep in metronymic precision left to right, right to left;
Held between earth and the infinite by a thought, a notion,
And gravity’s steadying hand.

There is a rhythm to the universe
A chord played below the level of the noise,
That resonates across the strings of those attentively listening
And resonates across those that aren’t.

Marc Janssen is an internationally published poet and poetic activist. His work has appeared haphazardly in printed journals and anthologies such as Off the Coast, Cirque Journal, Penumbra, The Ottawa Arts Review and Manifest West. He also coordinates poetry events in the Willamette Valley of Oregon including the Salem Poetry Project, a weekly reading, and Salem Poetry Festival.