in time

they say the sun is going out

but as a guttering candle 

flares at the last

so will the sun get hotter first

and sometime 

when international nudity

has been established 

and we can really see

what our politicians 

are made of

it will grow cooler again

and we shall dress 

for the last 

long winter

they say the universe 

is expanding

they say the stars 

are flinging 

farther out in space

they say that after the moon

they’ll take a trip 

to Mars

better look slippy 

the journey’s getting longer

we may never catch up

they say there are 

no mysteries

that science cannot solve

they say that all 

will be revealed 

in time

but I see 

a freezing astronaut 

in sunless space

chasing a planet 

and losing the race

Jeff Cloves
Illustration Nick Victor