Dennis - Another reason

My friend writes with the news that the moon Was full on the night last week when his daughter Entered the world, a fact he might read as significant And auspicious, he guesses, if he believed in astrology And the universe were smaller, the Milky Way Only a hundred stars across, not a hundred billion, Each with a claim of influence on a birth chart. In a smaller universe, Ill assure him, Hed still feel inadequate to the thought That he and Louise are responsible for the new arrival In the borrowed cradle at the foot of their bed. Yes, they were present at her conception, But neither at that moment conceived of her, And neither now has a strategy For making her future bountiful. In a smaller universe they would still Give her the name of Esther in the hope Shed prove in time to possess a few Of dear Aunt Esthers many virtues, As opposed to favoring poor Aunt Minerva. A smaller universe wouldnt make it easier For them to find the stories she needs For inspiration, enough to outweigh The sad examples she might be exposed to In the yards of neighbors Or on the buses to school or in the halls.

In my letter Ill mention my hope she becomes The kind of girl who walks home on Fridays From telescope night at the science museum Entranced by the thought that the universe is too vast To be weighed and measured, that only imagination Can hope to embrace it, if not contain it. And if sometimes it seems too empty for comfort, So may her route at night from the museum. Still, shell have to walk it. If shes lonely, Maybe shell find some company in the moon As it rises slowly above the roofs, Alone on its sail across the sky.