A MINUTE

He wonders how far the earth
speeds through space in one minute,
or how many leaves sprout
in the trees in his yard,
or how many thoughts
the human race thinks.
Once he watched a second hand turn
for a full minute
while the sun made explosions
in some trees. Another time
he focused on a single shining idea
for sixty seconds,
and the idea
didn't stop shining,
and still doesn't.