Separation

I go out alone and strain
my neck to find him
leaning aslant,
aiming at star clusters.

The sky is mostly guessed at
along this desert drive
where long palm fronds
hide giants from me,

rooftops eclipse galaxies,
hills truncate constellations.
I think of a pool I've seen,
so still it makes a bright

oval in the ground,
and of a child at the brink
who makes his shy contact,
eyes lowered on Orion.