my aging hand
bulging veins
arthritis-altered
finger joints
grips the chubby
ergonomic pen
firmly as it once held
the narrow yellow pencil
eraser end
pointing past
my right shoulder
at angels
I never thanked
as I pushed
and pulled the lead
toward another sharpening
same small muscles
my brain and body
still control
well-used engine
firing pistons combusting
like a miniature
of stars’ elegant death
white dwarf
to black dwarf
to timeless ray
in peaceful dark