Giving the finger started with warriors 
showing the enemy their bow fingers 

were still intact as they retreated. Running 
down the track from starting blocks of stars, 

some photons die, but not before they pass 
their batons of dim light to neighboring 

particles that eventually cross the
finish line. If only we could see them

touch the horizon, all stars would blink pink
as they set. Messages are buried deep

in Pi, waiting for ten-digit life forms
to discover them. For millennia,

so many humans have killed wielding swords
in right hands, brandishing shields in their left,

hearts have shifted for protection. 


(Previously published in Dharma Rain by Saint Julian Press, 2016)