Night Sky

by Rosie Jackson

We never thought to learn the names of stars,
they were just places light once found a home.
But now you're gone, I need to know
which one you've become.
Are you hidden in Lupus, Orion,
Cassiopeia? Perched like an egret
on the back of Pegasus? Flying to Pyxis,
Equuleus? Are you kissing the Seven Sisters?
Giving them hope? Is it their love
you're coaxing into being now?
Tell me, so I can aim my telescope.
There is so much dark.

Judge's Comments - Martin Malone

I loved the opening two lines of this poem in particular and from such a strong beginning the poem delivers on its plaintive exploration of a lost love's lightborn objective correlative. Another confident and deftly-rendered poem with no little grace.