this is Deneb
the tail of the swan
flying down the Milky Way
the head of the Northern Cross

it looks no brighter than its neighbours
but it burns like a hundred thousand suns
so far away that no one agrees how far

the light arriving tonight
left it when the pyramids were already old

in the story of the weaver and the cowherd
Deneb keeps the bridge of magpies
that spans the river once a year

around the year ten thousand
the wandering pole will pass by Deneb
on its way to Vega
