POEM AND PHOTO BY ED NORTHEN
Each year solstice arrives
orbiting fire at its zenith
initiates a long descent into absence
depending on latitude
I ponder if planets
in other solar systems
have latitudes which allow for life
as they orbit their fiery stars
perhaps time is measured differently
on planets in remote galaxies
their seasons and climates unique
given orbits are distinctive
I consider human orbits
what is our center
the belief which fixes us to
to the star we circumnavigate
the force which sustains
the trajectory of our journey
directs our course
to life
in another realm
another distant reality