52/365

as a kid
he’d get lost
in atlases
almanacs
record books
and books about space.

there was little time
for fiction
when surrounded by
such fanatical facts.

he could tell you:
your weight on mercury
or that a year on mars was 1.88 earth years
or that venus is the hottest planet in the solar system
or that jupiter has more than double the mass of all the other planets combined
or that saturn has more moons than any other planet
or that together the planets make up 0.14% of the solar systems mass,
99% of which is the gas giants

he watched:
et
close encounters
communion
star trek
star wars
the last star fighter
enemy mine
aliens

there was a hopefulness
just beyond his reach
in all that space.
a magnitude
that made his lonely childhood
days spent in mostly solitude  
feel more meaningful
or insignificant

he cold never tell
which he felt
or why.