hi guy, bye guy
Kids with flour-caked hands
gleefully drop balls big and small
into a tub to form impact craters,
while I, a Starry Messenger, with
Tucson’s amateur astronomy group
introduced them to meteorites at UA’s
Planetary & Lunar Lab’s Annual
Open House, the usual suspects
surrounding me—the Dark Sky crew,
the OSIRIS-REx team, the L5 National
Space Society, NOAO, and more, all eager
to share their cosmic awe.
I saw Guy.
I sang to myself, “My guy, thinking about my guy.”
too shy to say, “Hi.” at first, until, my time
for a break, I spotted him looking down,
while leaving the Starfest 2016 booth,
and tapped him on his arm.
He looked up and smiled.
“Hi Guy,” I said,
his name still amusing me.
Were he ‘The One’ I’d have fun
immortalizing him in cosmic verses
thanks to energy from far-away places.
“Hi! We haven’t seen each other for a month,”
Guy replied. I agreed, and then said that
New Horizon’s Pluto flyby made
his fall Solar System class extra valuable.
“Are you taking it?” he asked.
I’d taken Astronomy Basics,
the first class he’d taught. “I’m not sure,”
I replied, just as I heard a cheery, “Hi!”
and, simultaneously, Guy said,
“You remember Sheri.”
Aha! She was why, since our class ended,
I’d stopped receiving emails from Guy,
with articles he recommended.
Sheri flashed a friendly smile.
I thought her good for Guy’s sake.
“I’d better get back to the kids” I said,
“I’ve got lots more impact craters to make.”