Radio Observatory
Before the quiet zone
Patsy Cline is singing
Walking After Midnight
As my Dodge Omni
Sputters closer to
The giant metal ears
My AM station is
Searching for you near
Allegheny Mountains
Until I encounter
Radio silence and
Leave the car behind
To walk among machines
Which can hear a snowflake
Fall on their steel membranes
Amplifying stellar buzz
Like audio goliaths
Which strain to eavesdrop
On galactic tenants
Murmuring across space
Beyond our senses
Striving to interpret
Those private light years
Just as friendships tether us
Around curious worlds
Of unguarded voices
That tremble on inspection
Noisy as quasars
When listening too close
To what is kept from earshot
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Dane Karnick was influenced by poet, Tony Moffeit while attending Colorado State University. Dane’s poetry has appeared in publications such as Gravel, El Portal and Bookends Review. He grew up by the Colorado “Rockies”, lived in the Seattle area for 30 years, and resides in Treasure Valley, Idaho.
