Yerkes Observatory
is closed, feels abandoned
as we walk along the green
lawn, still mowed,
and the encroaching trees
Once, its telescope
was the second largest in the world
after Paris
now, as this is still
a rich country
it isn’t yet a ruin
you need a lens
to see
and also
vision
you were here before
Wisconsin
a camping trip
with people I never knew
you barely remember
I snap the camera
take the same picture
of the elegant dome
twice
as if
looking for something
a future
we can’t see
even
as the lake rises
and begins to lap
at our shoes
is closed, feels abandoned
as we walk along the green
lawn, still mowed,
and the encroaching trees
Once, its telescope
was the second largest in the world
after Paris
now, as this is still
a rich country
it isn’t yet a ruin
you need a lens
to see
and also
vision
you were here before
Wisconsin
a camping trip
with people I never knew
you barely remember
I snap the camera
take the same picture
of the elegant dome
twice
as if
looking for something
a future
we can’t see
even
as the lake rises
and begins to lap
at our shoes