The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

The Dog Star

There’s a dog in space! Am I delirious?
No! Its eye is a star they call Sirius;
The brightest by far,
it’s a binary star—
with its unseen companion, mysterious!

The companion is known as “the pup.”
Do you think that I just made that up?
That white dwarf is as small
as a puppy’s toy ball.
If you ask, “Is that true?” I’d say, “Yup!”

About the Writer


Martin J Elster

Martin J. Elster lives in Hartford, Connecticut. He was, for many years, a percussionist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. In addition to playing and composing music, Martin finds contentment in long walks in the woods or the city and in writing poetry, which often alludes to creatures and plants he encounters on his walks. Martin’s poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies in the U.S. and abroad. A full-length collection, Celestial Euphony, was published by Plum White Press in 2019.