Poems

Beneath the Starry Skies

November 15, 2023 /

Many years ago
When I was young and mild
I found my place beneath the stars
I was such a timid child

With a flashlight in my hand,
I’d scramble down to the dock
Afraid I might meet a hungry bear,
Afraid someone might hear me talk

I’d whisper tales to the glitter
Strewn in the blackening sky
Tiny, blooming flowers of light
Across the lake they’d lie

And still I walk underneath them,
(But I am older now)
Through fields of snowy asters,
And I wonder–how?

How can God take a dream,
One persistent part of me,
Grow it into something good, and
Bless me with this sweet reality?

With a flashlight in my hand,
I cross the dewy lawn,
Past the rabbit in his cage,
He lets out a yawn

I flip the light on in the shed
And check for spiders by the door
I cross the threshold unnoticed,
But nearly crush a cricket on the floor

I avoid the saws and cords,
The outflow of my husband’s skill,
I grab a treat from a plastic bag,
And listen for a moment, still

Blunt claws scrape the floor
On the other side of the wall:
My companion, ready for me,
I open the door and I stand tall


My dog greets me with a wagging tail
And asks with her imploring eyes,
“Can we take a walk, oh please,
Beneath the starry skies?”

I struggle with the wire
That lashes her door to the fence
She waits patiently, seated close,
White-furred, all soft and dense

Then, we are free, oh we are free!
She leaps ahead, I fall behind
But the stars are blazing,
Clear as crystal, so I don’t mind

The hungry bears don’t scare me
I have a protector, tried and true
Nor do I feel lonely; my dog listens well,
And I listen, too

The leaves tell me their stories
As they rustle in their beds
The grasses tell me their tales
As they wave their spiky heads

All around me, the world lives
And breathes, even at night
Under a twinkling canopy,
Carrying on in sublime starlight

Many years ago
I only dreamed of this
The fields, the sky, the farm, the dog,
A life of simple bliss

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