The Universe and Us

The Universe is useless without
us and these songs and poems
the sober calm voice of a turtle
the trills of the song sparrow 
the sweeping tones of the blue 
whale tunneling through the sea. 

When are we going home, our 
space suits covered with dark 
matter and such truck one picks 
up living on the road, sleeping 
in train depot motels out along 
the Milky Way walking, waiting. 

The Universe is nothing outside 
thumbs hitchhiking backwards  
what we see when we look out 
into the light switches on and off 
and all along the potholed road
ramshackled machines sit idle.