Depth of Field
This camera can create depth of field,
the rose in soft layers of petals cradled
in softer and softer layers of green,
can look up into the night sky and distinguish
the clear from the clouded parts, pick out
stars and that comet we’re searching for.
Seven thousand years ago it flew by
and here it is again, trailing a wide
white plume of rock and steam.
In another seven thousand you can see it again.
You’d think its supply of debris must be endless,
unlike these sandstone cliffs’ fragile layers
crumbling like dust in the wind and water,
though thousands of years have piled
them one on another to stand here tonight.
Having found it we can see with our bare eyes
the comet and its wide trail. And then a flash
of nearer light diverts us. Fireflies!
This camera can create depth of field,
the rose in soft layers of petals cradled
in softer and softer layers of green,
can look up into the night sky and distinguish
the clear from the clouded parts, pick out
stars and that comet we’re searching for.
Seven thousand years ago it flew by
and here it is again, trailing a wide
white plume of rock and steam.
In another seven thousand you can see it again.
You’d think its supply of debris must be endless,
unlike these sandstone cliffs’ fragile layers
crumbling like dust in the wind and water,
though thousands of years have piled
them one on another to stand here tonight.
Having found it we can see with our bare eyes
the comet and its wide trail. And then a flash
of nearer light diverts us. Fireflies!