Comet Kohotek

A forgotten bit of space dust
heralded before its fizzle
but a wealth, a treasure
for this son, sharing a memory
of my father
helping me, loving me

Up the ladder to the roof,
watch for the edge, stay close
feel the bite of fall, after dark
attach the cable release,
study the sky
place the tripod
push the button

Will it show? Will we see it, capture the tail
see what the experts predict
catch the magic of the moment
on the emulsion of my film

He didn’t say, “I love you”;
but thirty years later,
I know he did;
why else would he have spent his night
on the roof
squinting at a spark
that never was
counting down the time for the shot
teaching me, laughing with me
in the dark

July 15, 2006 15:22

Comet Kohotek - October - November 1973 - Dad and me on the roof of the Westfield (MA) Junior High School, with permission, and only Mom’s camera with the broken tripod

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,760+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.