If It Wasn’t for Lack of Trying

The scales of the dragon slide
Over and under each other.

When the intensely reflective planets
Are not in the sky, far stars shine brighter.

When the three most brilliant planets
Are scheduled to rise together,

Clouds gather in the way before dawn.
They won’t be back like that for decades,

That grouping of planets, while by sunrise
Those obscuring clouds have all gone on.

Life goes on, sing the poets and pop stars,
As they rise and wink out, one by one.

Life gets its chances to see this, miss that.
The scales slide over and back.