Star Song

I’ve made a hundred thousand wishes,

None of which have come to pass.

But now I see my fatal error:

I never built on what would last.

All that time I was building my castles

On jet streams and shooting stars,

The world was turning beneath this canvas,

Humming to dull its stinging scars.

All those single shooting stars, I saw them, yes,

But never realized the larger song,

This shimmering dance of light and sound

The other stars make all night long.

I was blind! So very blind!

And deaf to all cares but mine,

Until I stopped in the street ‘neath the sky,

Stopped and heard the star symphony shine.

Quartets of red and white novas,

All glittering, sparkling, and sweet,

Playing melodies familiar, yet new

That echo in the puddles at my feet.

There is no discord here,

And nothing out of tune,

Only endless perfect cadences

And the milky whole-note tones of the moon.

I lose myself in this brilliant star song,

Forgetting all my woes and cares,

This slow, circling dance of light

Convicts me of truth unawares.

I find hope in these glowing harmonies, 

Shining bravely against the black. 

For once I stop making wishes, 

And start singing my own song back.