Ionosphere Love
Way above the stratosphere
the ions dance more plentifully
by day than night in their
very own sphere fifty
to five hundred kilometers up
a realm most sensitive and dynamic
invisible to the eye from ground
nonetheless governs life’s well being
so below folks should love love love
our blessed ionosphere
our shield from cosmic radiation
but as you will soon hear
oh dear oh dear oh dear
no space is sacred
space is filling right up
with technological affront
damaging junk
cosmic protector
In the growing dusk
of late August
gathered round the supper fire
the Widow Wyile, Groundhog,
Mink, Doe and Bear gazed up
as their brethren stars
began a bit to twinkle
growing ever brighter
upon the firmament
when everyone of them had a fright
for out of the thin rarefied air
headed straight surely
all the way to the ionosphere
strutted suddenly by
a whole long string of lights
that simply
did not
belong
way up there
Bear growled
Doe froze
for a l o n g seeming m o m e n t
Grounhog bared her teeth
and Mink curled her tail tighter
WHAT WAS THAT?
and before they could begin
to answer
it
was
gone
Doe sprang around the corner
but could not see a thing up
beyond the trees or shore
the string of lights
vanished
aliens
poof
no
th
in
g
They were all
discomfitted
was that a marvel
or a horror?
technological feat
treachery unloosed
or both?
a pall was cast
upon the evening
their beings jangled
they did their best to joke
to cheer themselves
haunted by disbelief
and knowing both
for some had seen
this before
have you?
eerie loon calls ebbed
and flowed above the water
while way up high
fifty to five hundred
kilometres up up up
the sensitive dynamism
of the ionosphere was injected
with metal and active
electrical clutter
Thank heaven for rocks
for water and earth
said Groundhog
and for campfires that crackle
purred Mink
they keep our attention
said Doe
as Bear shared her precious
honeycomb
and they all rumbled
their appreciation
their delight
for the sweet gift
for cherished
communal time
and space in the dark
in which only firelight
flickered
not screens
not spaceships
not scary life altering
radio frequency waving satellites