Comet H
The Interloper
by Barbara Walsh

Reference points were given—
Below Arcturus, left of the Big Dipper
Hurry outside with binoculars gripped
Pasted picture in my mind
Transferred onto the landscape of blackened space
Wait —
Adjust eyes to darkness,
Then search the sky.

So many stars, myriad points of light until—
There it is — the coma of fire and ice
The interloper from the distant Oort Cloud,
I SEE IT, I SEE IT and
All probabilities of
A quantum nature collapse, I've seen it
And nothing, nothing
Will ever be the same!

Imagine actually being on that
Interloper from space
Rounding our yellow sun
And then out to the distant Oort Cloud
(Its haloed home), embedded in the ultimate cold.
But no one will savor
Your fire and ice
No, not this millennium.