As Jupiter reaches opposition—
when the giant of this solar system
lies between our blue marble and the sun—

I will look up at nightfall and track
its progress across the winter sky,
closer than ever to Earth,

bright as a star. And should I have
a telescope handy, as Galileo did,
I might be able to see the four

Galilean moons, named for
the Italian astronomer who
realized in 1610 that they orbit

Jupiter, not our planet, providing
solid evidence that, contrary to opinion,
everything is not Earth-centered.

That a narrow vision of control,
creating opposition where it
doesn’t need to exist,

is a human-centered fixation like
post-baptism bibles … plucked from
street corners from the meaty hands

of zealots, as a young poet wrote
six years ago, before her blood was
spilled on American pavement,

when she wondered if science
can coexist with faith and wonder.
As I continue to wonder and look

for evidence of what can and cannot
be easily seen on Earth
as it is in the heavens.

•••

(In memory of Renée Nicole Macklin Good, Oct. 7, 1980 – Jan. 7, 2026.
The words in italics are from her award-winning poem,
“On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs,” which can be read here.)