An Armed Hunter Stalking Through the Trees like a Ghost

Listening in Deep Space:

We've always been out looking for answers,

telling stories about ourselves,

searching for connection, choosing

to send out Stravinsky and whale song,

which, in translation, might very well be

our undoing instead of a welcome.

We launch satellites, probes, telescopes

unfolding like origami, navigating

geomagnetic storms, major disruptions.

Rovers with spirit and perseverance

mapping the unknown. We listen

through large arrays adjusted eagerly

to hear the news that we are not alone.

Considering the history at home,

in houses, across continents, oceans,

even in quests armed with good intentions,

what one seeker has done to another—

what will we do when we find each other?

Diane Thiel.