Karakorum

in the ruins of Karakorum,
in the stark sands beyond Agadez,
in the sluiced plains of Okavanga,
in the raised stone fists at Chicxulub,

stars twist like snakes,
slither and hiss in the welcome night
at incandescent dawn
falsely flickering in wicks and filaments

and wait, patient as neutrons
for the inevitable decay of men