After Robert Frost
He always wanted a telescope, so he spent all his insurance money. The farm burned down, perhaps from that lightning storm last month; spooked the cows in the barn, knocking over the kerosene lamp, he said.
On a tripod, he mounts the telescope tube fashioned from well-machined brass. It glints under stardust and tabernacles a silvered mirror crafted from porthole glass ground smooth with fine grit.
In the eyepiece, a crescent moon gold-leafs the sky and fire-stars glitter the night like gold dust. He chooses stars as his legacy.
As the telescope sifts the heavens, his eyes sparkle.
For those who are curious, the Robert Frost reference eclipses two of his poems:
“Star-splitter” (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173537) and
“Choose Something Like a Star” (http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2014/09/12)
John C. Mannone
Hi John,
I very much enjoyed this story. Good work!
Thank you, Lisa. I am glad you enjoyed it. In case you and others might be interested, the Robert Frost reference in the epigraph involves two of his poems. The primary one is “Star-splitter,” but also “Choose Something Like a Star” in a more subtle way. JCM