the stars all collapsed but the few
far ones we didn’t have names for,
credits rolled by clogged with names
of the dead, the blazing studio logo
snuffed shut, Elizabeth Taylor folded
up like a clam, the perfect eggs the birds
laid were duds, dried out and turned
to dust, space dust from exploded planets
suffocated the plants and animals, our
headaches grew bigger than a prison fence
but there was no electricity left to power
the chair inside and finish the job. Now
that which is beginning’s so new, its
face has no full eyes to regard us. We
hover pixilated and vaporous over
ponds, waiting to empty our rain.
Jennifer L. Knox's new book of poems, The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway, will be published by Bloof Books in fall of 2010. Her work has appeared in three volumes of the Best American Poetry Series, The New Yorker, and American Poetry Review. She is proud to be a former Milwaukee Poetry Slam champion.
