Gravity
Patrick Moore, amateur astronomer and broadcaster (b.1923)
Planetary in his demeanor,
Humped in a puckered leather chair,
Patrick Moore contemplates the universe
In all its known glory.
In the crater of his eye,
A monocle clings like a sliver of ice
Capable of supporting
Unbearably slender life.
How old must he be? Older than you and I
By many moons. And what a strain
His big habitual heart must feel,
What a debt it owes to gravity.
*Andrew Pidoux is an Eric Gregory Award and Crashaw Prize winner. His book Year of the Lion is published by Salt.
