I forgot there were stars Because I was looking straight ahead. Shining street lamps Glaring headlights The noise of traffic and sirens The smell of exhaust. I forgot there were stars Because I was looking to the left and the right. In meetings, in the grocery store Pumping gas, loading laundry Scurrying like an ant Urgently moving crumbs Spinning in circles. I forgot there were stars Because I stopped looking at all. Head down, focused on facts Screens blinking Paper in my hands Breaking news Like rushing water In my ears. But then one cold winter night I saw them So dark so quiet As I walked along the path. The screech of an owl pierced me And the universe opened up. I fell headlong into the blackness of the midnight sky. The constellations held me And shook me with celestial violence. For a split second My life unfolded in a gleaming orb. Moments I had shoved down so deep I could not feel them any more Came rushing up. All the loss and longing and doubt and despair. All the joys I had dismissed. The mystery of an eclipse A hawk slowly gliding against the clouds The silence after a snowfall The gentle rustle of autumn leaves Freshly cut hayfields Stretching out against the horizon. I inhaled Exhaled And I was overcome with a sacred stillness. Then the heavens threw me back to earth With a shocking roughness and whispered In a voice of love and rage Look up. I forgot there were stars But they were the breath inside me Always.
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Nice!
Great wisdom here. Thanks.