Some 5 or 6 or 7 billion years from now, the Sun will become a red giant star and will engulf the orbits of Mercury and Venus and probably the Earth. The earth then would be inside the Sun, and some of the problems that face us on this particular day will appear, by comparison, modest. On the other hand, since it is 5,000 or more million years away, it is not our most pressing problem. But it is something to bear in mind. It has theological implications.
—Carl Sagan, The Varieties of Scientific Experience
***
on the southside of san antonioa battalion of solar soldiersfaces the sun this pasture—commandeered for service
flat panels capture formidable forcesthat force south texans insideevery summer—a ball of gaswe take for granted
fire flung into the skysome say straight from thehand of god—old heat—keeps usfrom freezing in the void
~
under this same sun:
mahabodi & prickly pearrice patties & corn fieldsgreat redwood forests & the river nile
newts mudpuppies sirens in the glistening brookwildebeest & jackal on the savannah grasslandselephant resplendent with bangles and drapes& her mahout at the amber palace
when human hands have doneand gone the way of the mastodon
still: this generous sun
will shine
on the blessed and the cursedon the wild and the tameon the dirt path and the pavementon the thicket and the pastureon the cattle grazing
it will shine
on tented citieson the homed and the homelesson the seeker and the soughton the walled out and the walled inon the safehouse and the slaughterhouseon the treacherous and the timid
from fuji and everestmachu pichu and jung frau jochto the jarlung zanbo canyon
from the everglades to the mojavefrom the painted desert to the cranberry bog
it will shine
on the hard hat and the redneckon the white collar and the blue collaron the iron worker and the coal mineron the farmer and his fieldon the mother and her child
on every leaf it will shineon every tree: sycamore maple pineall all rooted in this good earth —under this same sun
it will shine
on the lilac and the lotus bloomingon the monarch and the house flyon the humpback and the piss anton the goldfish and the gorillaon the toucan and the house cat —sunning on the sill
it will shine
on every caste and classon every beggar kneelingon the ceo in his corner with a windowon the high heeled career womanand the barefooted woman walking for water—her baby slung across her belly—an olla balanced on her head
it will shine
on the road crew making wayon the mason and the rooferon the terracotta and the thatchon the flash of the warrior’s swordon the backs of those who bowon the believer and the unbelieveron the protestant and the catholicon the anglican and the jewon the muslim and the hindu
this same generous sunsolace solar solstice el sol
~
you who have shined your holy eyethrough ancient apertures:
— kulkulkan—stonehenge—karnak—mnajdra
you who have dividedthe day and the nightyou whose light opensthe eye of each sleeping seeddrawing food and flowerout from under black soil
you: constant alchemist—blending synthesist—your energybecoming our very breath
you who bathe my body brewing elixirremoving dark energy from every cell
how we worship youhow we adore yougenerous sun:
star of our existence
you who will one dayswallow this planet
whole
