The trouble with the void
is not that it looks back
at me, but that I can paint
over it in shades of scheduled crises,
forgotten Sabbaths, old wasp nests,
and the last few disposable straws;
I use these to build stick men that
guard the nothingness, the space
life so generously gave to me,
a cosmic shelf to fill with meaning,
a concert hall to fill with light.