I am, after all, somewhat clear-eyed and level-headed
have a couple of university degrees
eat sensibly, exercise moderately,
and rarely use profanity even when
loud noises wake me in the middle of a night
but still, why take a metaphysical chance
especially so late at night
the stars dazzling and communicative
and it’s nowhere near Halloween
this odd creature claiming to be
from one of those communicative stars
a mild sort of threat, nothing breathtaking,
asks me to reveal my biggest existential disappointment
I tell you, I was more surprised that this creature
pronounced existential perfectly
than its odd otherworldly appearance.
I rationalize, a playful impostor at best
a sinister exploiter at worst,
but what if I’m part of something transcendently historic
and I’m fumbling for words, so here it goes:
Until a few minutes ago, never meeting an extraterrestrial ...