Michael Virga

FOCUS: THE AUGUST STARS

90 °

False:
The stars
only come out
at night.

Observe:
Even on the sunniest
days you think will never end,
you are always
surrounded by
the entire entourage,

like those angels there
on your pin head.


69 °

Beauty is skin deep, not skin tight.
Stars aren't stingy & conservative.
They aren't prodigal or lacking
the core-courage of conviction:
Fire flies from the inside out.
Have you ever met an ugly star?
Venus
& Jimmy Durante, too.


111 °

Dog Days
but they aren't doggerel.

The strongest hound of the season,
Sir Sirius, leads the stellar pack,

for celestial conjunction with the daystar.

Then these canines of 1st magnitude
without pedigree keep the dark lit year round.

Even in outerspace,
dog is man's best friend.

So why do astronauts bring along a monkey?


180 °

Not only is there a Milky Way,
but if we follow starlight,
we soon discover "Biblical Passages"
appeared in the night sky long before scripture.

Parable in Starlight:
It's good vision to see stars,
to have them in your eyes.
It's even all right
to be one.
"Don't hide
your Light."
The stars waste no time
waiting to be told. (neither did the Magi)
Why should you?

360°

Seizing the day,
I skinny dip in a lake

far from city light.
After orbiting the moon,

I butterfly over to a constellation
and find my place in the sun

settled among the stars.

Icarus just flew at the wrong time
of day.

Location:	Birmingham, Alabama
Email:	mavbuon@hotmail.com
Awards:	Honorable Mention, IBPC (March, 2001)

- August 2003 - Three Views of Moonchanc Huadiao Soliloquy Glass Houses how to skin a cat My Son, When He Is Sick Buckets Red Velvet for Four Days: a Husband Section 2: An excerpt from The Last Canyon Focus: The August Stars