Antares

by Kavitha Rath

Deep in our galaxy core,
lies the ruby of Scorpius,
bright beating heart 
of a long and winding tail.

Antares skims the horizon,
beyond the ecliptic, 
stinging Orion,
over the sapphire seas.

Time lags as the Egyptians
sink to their knees, 
offer libations to Selkit,
and Ares expels his ichor
to honor the thirst of his brood.
 
Royalty resides in the lunar mansion,
shadows the Sun's expanse,
not just rival to Mars, but overseer.

Planetary dust dwarfs
tides to come,
the star ponders light years gone by,
cool and massive.

With the best view in the spiral,
the supergiant can regard
the remainder of its creation,
as it explodes into the finale,
bubbles in the nebula
for all those mortals.

December 29th, 2015