The Stars Beneath Us

Roman Emperor Constantine knew my name,
Genghis Khan gave me his Mongol throne.
But I only hold on
To distant memories…

When
A silver pocket watch hung low outside,
Bright trinkets blazed across deep midnight skies.
Piles of books rest in my lap,
Your motherly chuckle
tingles my ears.

Perhaps this is why I collected pieces of the impossible,
Why my name carved itself upon the sun,
Why treasures wept in my trembling arms,
Why.
Why…

Yet with all the places I've flown and traveled through,
Bora Bora's coast; the rough sea a dark greenish blue,
Cappadocia's hot air balloons in all different hues,
A Norway safari to photograph wild musk oxen.

Yet with all the fancy cuisine I eat,
Blue parmesan sauce that covers rare meat,
Turkish Delights in colors, bitter and sweet,
Fugu and Casu Marzu without their toxins.

Yet with all those I've met before,
Kings holy and high, with wealth in store
Queens, popes, business giants galore,
And the earl of Tankerville.

Yet with all the grand treasures and jewels I hoard,
Sunken Spanish royal coins encrusted with gold,
Victorian pigeon-blood-red rubies of old,
Hidden underneath that field on the hill.

Yet with all the exotic animals I own,
Babirusas with their large jawbones,
Dolly, the first sheep ever cloned,
The Spinosaurus and T-Rex I have raised.

And yet.
with all my earthly things,
All my prizes and possessions appraised --
I lost you to the stars,

Beneath me