Dark street at night, a circle of light,
An arch like nothing I’d seen before,
Was it a portal, a wormhole door
Leading to somewhere else in the cosmos?
I froze.

I did not think to run away
I was seized in the grip of awe:
My mind trying to make sense of
What my dazzled eyes now saw.

A science experiment gone wrong?
ET’s in my mundane town?
Wondering, guessing,I waited,
For my pulses to calm down.

I stood transfixed in wonder
Till a whiff of ozone, a clap of thunder,
Caused the apparition to vanish.
How I still regret and wish

That I had never paused to guess
How I wish I’d answered “Yes! ”
To that inviting, open door.