Kay Ryan: "Stardust"

Stardust is
the hardest thing
to hold out for.
You must
make of yourself
a perfect plane—
something still
upon which
something settles—
something like
sugar grains on
something like
metal, but with
none of the chill.
It’s hard to explain.

"Stardust" by Kay Ryan, from The Niagara River. © Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2005.

Photography credit: From a work in progress entitled "Stardust," by graphic designer Rosa Hernández (originally color).