51 Pegasus a sun
has a planet
half the mass of Jupiter
too close to that sun
to have our kind of life

         looks at cigarette burn on mouse pad:
       "oh that'll just become familiar"

order in the saloon!

       helmeted angel waitresses
       out of 1890s Norwegian kitsch

            tilted loony toon light

       she used to laugh at his jokes
       but now he stands there in the cold & dark
       howling
       at her window
                        (The Jilted Professor's Lament)

if feeling the absence
equals missing the presence

does missing the absence
equal feeling the presence?

            wild surmise
            in mild sunrise

                           "& her name was Solitaire"