XVI
With modern telescopes
We need wonder no more,
As massive new refractors
The heavens now explore.
You could be a pulsar,
Giant red or dwarf white,
An exploding supernova -
The astrologers' delight.
Perhaps you are a binary -
A comet from afar;
Or one of our own planets,
An ancient wandering star.
Could you be an asteroid
Or a distant sun?
Neutron star or nebula?
You could be any one.
Things were so much simpler
Centuries ago,
When a star was just a twinkling light
After the sunset glow.
Written February 1990
