Gleaming clouds drape
dark, clumped shapes
pregnant figures shifting
star babies hip-to-hip

giant globes hide each other
like overlapping breasts

(collectively the clouds contain
enough to feed fifteen new suns)

faintly sizzled molecules
deeply cracked and ripping

constant rocking, churning
rays of ultraviolet gas expand,
thrusting in streams against them
leading to their
dissolution

"clumps of butter on a red-hot pan"

Copyright © May 2002 Joanne M Uppendahl