Orbit

No-one noticed precisely when they began to vanish
one by one, without fanfare or farewell.  Andromeda,
Cassiopeia, Hercules, King Cepheus, The Eagle, The Ram,
The Swan, The Whale, Orion and The Unicorn quietly fled.
No more wishes were left in the world but we pretended all was well.

Some blamed nuclear power, pollution, the depleting ozone layer.
Some blamed GM foods and the lack of home-grown carrots.
Some said the whole thing had been a lie, a false symbol of hope,
Christian propaganda, like the virgin birth and the three wise men.
They claimed the skies had always been an empty wasteland.

Some blamed a capitalist/militarist conspiracy, superpower
lasers and Chem Trails had dissolved every twinkle.
The Russians accused America. America accused everyone else.
As the nights hardened Daesh celebrated with mass decapitations.
Shrunken heads on poles made lanterns for the new caliphate.

At first we stopped going out, hid beyond the flicker of pixels.
But then Bot-Cops, plasma torches, quantum lights were invented.
The moon persevered in his solitary orbit.  Children sang sky shanties,
hung fake stars from silk ribbons. Sales of glitter and luminous paint
rocketed. But then we all forgot, became too busy to look up.

When the moon began to shrivel like an old man’s testicle, no-one noticed.