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Letter to the Horsehead Nebula

Member since 2002 · Posted 31 Jul 2002 · 3 comments

I've noticed, lately, how my eyes open when I first wake up in the morning: light hits them like a gunshot, for a moment I'm unable to breathe. I'm stunned into submission by the mere fact of my life, the mere fact that I continue to live. And afterward, when I step outside to get the paper, I'm floored by the first rush of humid air into my lungs. This is what it is to be alive. Everything is a miracle. The stars have been counted, have fallen into their correct order. At night I stand outside staring at the sky, distant planets and suns, awed by the vast expanse of the universe in which I am the source of no gravitational pull, no light, in which I am of no importance except for the truth of my name.

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3 comments

[10] New Life Drug 31-Jul-02/11:04 AM Reply

Once again, great poem. Good thoughts, good perspective. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I'm not sure why. It must be a good thing.

[7] horus8 31-Jul-02/1:40 PM Reply

try plowing a field in the middle of minnesota and fishing for walleye (the elusive one) also both microcosmic-psuedo-orgasmic...the big let down.@

[8] not_a_philosopher 14-Apr-05/2:39 PM Reply

nice poem, but you are wrong, this is what it is to be alive and happy
one could also say, that "i woke and could not believe i was still alive / i wished so much that i could die/ im stunned at the pain that the world is filled with / what kind of meaning can one find in this life......and afterward, when is tep out to get the paper/ i am overcome by the futility of it all/ gowing through the motions/ i feel the sharp air stabbing my lungs, look somebody just died/ this is what it is to be alive / everything is a mistake the stars / are mocking me with their happiness/ how can they enjoy being lonely/ at night i stand outside staring/ at the sky, distant planets and suns/stunned by the vast expanse of the universe/ in which i am the source of nothing/ nothing good, nothing evil/ i am nothing and am of no importance/ not even my name will be remembered

just throwing that out there
-megan