For the children of Sandy Hook, 
	     and all the others

The earth is made of stars, the teacher said.
	And: All the stars are burning.
We are learning how the stars are made:

A Big Bang, and it’s day, the sad
	black holes bleeding dark all morning.
The earth is made of stars, the teacher said,

And we are made of earth. All the dead
	Lie in the earth, and we will too, returning,
Learning how the stars are made

To disappear: they are destroyed
	By light. They are brought to less than nothing.
The earth is made of stars, the teacher said,

And when they have bowed and entered
	It is from their own light they are hiding.
We are learning how the stars are made

And unmade. We betray them and we are betrayed
	By other Big Bangs, the fumbling of God.
The earth is made of stars, the teacher said,
	Unlearning how the stars are made.