The Lighthouse

For Shavi, a friend and ikon

    Orion protects starry skies each night –
    Giving liberal light with that horse and bear –
    Their beauty calling eyes to gaze aright,
    Granting both wonder and direction fair.
    Yet, despite ever luminous powers,
    They reveal not all dangers of the dark;
    For it is in these latest of hours
    That ships run aground, drifting off their mark.
    But trouble – found before – can be transformed
    Into a soft warning for those to come.
    A lighthouse built, leaving air slightly warmed,
    Hoping to make a voyage less burdensome.
       For a lesser light stood in a greater place
       May provide for us men a saving grace.