Somewhere To the Left of Earth

In my many years before the mast I’d seen rocks and shoals conspire To ground me down to powder Till I was just dust in the wind, And I’d never even been to Kansas. I was useless as a one-armed paper hanger, Skilled in the geometer’s art, But no closer to infinity Than the day I’d started out. Just a journeyman aesthete Dressing drywall plaster With those tapestried patterns Favored by the rich and famous. But, being a lifelong learner, I learned to breathe. I learned to eat. I learned to say, “No.” I became a student of the universe, Composer of the mini-verse, Somewhere to the left of Earth. Mainlining the vagus nerve On the highway leading home. And there’s no place like home. I must be doin’ somethin’ right.