Stephen Hawking

at 3 am, in between coughing fits,
I learned that black holes emit particles, where have I been
Stephen told us this long ago and I wasn't listening
to his synthesized American accented voice
(being British, a definite irk, he said, in an American accent)
and how, how can we complain about our small aches and pains,
hard work, our small lives as this giant, this diminutive hunched
man, bright eyes behind thick glasses, works out the mysteries
of the universe, in his head,
at 3 am, make it 4 am., I am in awe, and great
sadness as his passing.
let us all be inspired to act.