observer's love poem

maybe I'm not a writer
maybe I'm not an artist
maybe I'm an observer
like an astronomer
looking out past the solar system, past the Kuiper Belt
looking out into the universe
trying to understand what makes everything
everything

I travel around the world
learning different histories, different cultures

I fly in airplanes
I jump from airplanes
I pilot airplanes
trying to get closer to the stars

molecule by molecule,
we originate from stars
and I know we are all linked,
our bodies formed from stardust

but outer space
is a violent place
violent explosions create the stars
and our earth has earthquakes,
avalanches, volcanoes
tsunamis, typhoons

and in all this madness
somehow I've found you

with you I have walked on the tops of glaciers
with you I have watched solar storms
from near the Arctic Circle
with you I have walked through the gates
of Hitler's first concentration camp
with you I have sailed from island to island
retracing the Origin of Species

I bought a balalaika for my guitarist in Russia
I've even held your hand at the Great Wall of China

as I said before,
I'm only an observer
and with these observations,
I thee wed
because I will never let you go

I've seen galaxies collide
I've seen comets smash into planets
I've seen supernovae and the death of stars
and in all of that, I still found you

as I said, I'm only an observer
but I've found what I've been looking for

I'll tighten my grip on your hand
because I don't ever want to let you go