Marilyn Baszczynski
a ray of light
photons began a journey
a half million years ago
bouncing grinding churning
from sun's core
through zones of radiation and convection
photosphere and chromosphere
to explode from the solar corona
then it took eight minutes
to cross ninety-three million miles
these very same photons
stream through murky February skies
past slate clouds to burst radiant
on the burnished walnut
of mother's casket
as we stand graveside
all eyes upward turn
Bio
Marilyn Baszczynski, originally from Ontario, Canada, lives and writes in rural Iowa. Her book, Gyuri. A Poem of wartime Hungary, was published in 2015. Her poetry has appeared in several journals and anthologies including Abaton, Aurorean, enskyment (spring 2020), KYSO Flash, Loch Raven Review, Lyrical Iowa, Midwest Poetry Review, Mused, Slippery Elm, Sunbeams, Telepoem Booth Iowa (spring 2020), Tipton Poetry Journal, and Whistling Shade. Formerly President of the Iowa Poetry Association, Marilyn currently edits IPA's annual anthology, Lyrical Iowa. Read more about her at www.marilynbaszczynski.com.