The More Loving One by W. H. Auden
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time. Art by Anna Gogoleva Recommended listening: While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Regina Spektor April Come She Will - Simon & Garfunkel Links of the Day: Rocket Mail Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016) although maybe it is not dead yet. Selling Out: An Artist’s Search for Money and Meaning My Year of Horrible Reading