The call of the great horned owls
draws me out into darkness
where cedars bend and wave in the night wind
and the branches of the old oak
are bare of leaves
and full of stars
Whoever knew they could glitter so?
Meteors flare through Gemini
past Sirius and into Orion
whose belt and sword and bow
hang glittering in the black night
next to Taurus who carries
the Seven Sisters
on his back
I cannot watch them long enough
so I settle my back on the hard deck
with my face to the sky
and fall up into the Milky Way
The stars glitter and pulse and flare
and I can’t help but think
there is some meaning there
and if I could just concentrate
hard enough
I could make out
what they are trying to say
something about beauty
something about glory
something about shining
just as brightly as we can
for all things die
even
the stars
the stars
the stars
O how they glitter in the night