Distance

In the early morning
before the light of dawn,
the dog sniffs the ground
searching for the perfect place
to relieve her bladder,
while I glance at the skies.
The Big Dipper prominent
in my northern view.
Most reassuring
yet distant at
more than 450 trillion miles
in our past.
Yet, I see it now
not 80 years ago before
I was even born.
Its light now reaching me
created when my father was
a young man.
Reminding me
of the distance
and proximity
that separates us all.

As the space
between you and me
now.