Too Thin to Spawn an Echo

from here the atmosphere is space so vast—
space deep enough to spawn an echo, but

seen from the moon imagine
a somewhat fat elastic band
stretched round a blue ball,
or slim mist of sweat evaporating
from the crown of a head still
clear enough to spawn an echo

imagine an aura of oxygen
held by a gauze of gravity but
with weave so slight so ephemeral yet
substantial enough to spawn an echo

try to envision something absolutely
essential but (in perfect condition) invisible,
containing essence of life, but

now see it thick with carbon,
a saturated scarf girdling a globe
at equatorial noon muffling billions
of small voices crying, Now we see! but
too late too weak too spent too thin
to spawn even an echo

Jim Culleny
9/4/21