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.
W.H.Auden