some nights

I soothe restlessness
vacating the house
for a brisk walk

until steps get
few and slower
I may stargaze

or understand at once
those leaves shaking
in the dark torpor

I may turn to catch
the light patter of
my shadow born

under the moon

I look up at the stars


And I see you.

On the grass,
under the clear night sky.
She played with the stars,
shining in her dark brown eyes.

Warm feet,
cool in the breeze.
Her delicate fingers played with the leaves,
fallen from the maple trees.

A sweet smile,
kissed her beautiful face.
As the stars burnt bright,
as she glowed in their glowing embrace.

Her eyes and fingers traced,
their paths so intricately linked.
She didn’t want to miss this beautiful night,
and so, she hardly blinked.

She saw shapes and constellations,
shining bright in their glory.
It was almost as if they wanted her to come stargazing,
and listen to them as they told their story.

In the dark we marked tattoos of
disintegrating constellations
on our rib cages,
our fingernails filled with ink.
We were told they would last
forever on 19 year old skin
when carved on the night where
each fallen brother of Sun kissed
our mid-August goosebumps.

The weight of our bodies
cut into the grass.
We came back the next evening to
watch these human Grand Canyons
sink deeper to Earth's liquid center
underneath flashlight flickers of an
approaching thunderstorm,
each bolt echoing on the hearts
of Lake Michigan fish.
The trees fell inside our craters
as we walked backward to my car,
fearing for our lives, but
immobile from each reaching meteor.

Perseus fell through Earth's granite throat,
parabolic melting of night sky.
Collapsed Big Dipper and Ursa Major
illuminated our chests
over shadow of dying white pine.

I found myself on your car with you, our bodies intertwined.
We'd gaze up at the infinte stars.
One was yours and one was mine.

Now I find myself on my bed alone,
My pillow soaked straight through.
I gaze alone now, on my infinite tears,
which all belong to you.

The New Mexico sky is alive,
redder than a child’s wagon on a dusty front lawn
and the stars blink like forgotten Christmas lightswhile constellations shift, dissatisfied with their placements, sending ripples through mythology with every new shape they make.

We have blankets and enough hope among us
to keep the morning star burning above the far hills—
I am flanked by mountainous profiles;
the crag of a nose, the devastating valley of a lip.

We are wondering if someone out there could read our thoughts
if someone would take an interest in what puts our bodies together.
Misguided, we gaze upward.

It’s crazy to believe we’re alone in the universe, someone says,
and I smile into my shoulder, considering,
of all things,
space:

the starry unknown
between fingers and words.

Breathtaking beauty settles before my eye’s
Palpable is this peace in a land where air is thin
While beaming brilliance, lights the skies

Rage is visible in the irate tides
Of the Rocky Mountain rapids crashing by
Breathtaking beauty settles, before my eyes

With a scent of bristlecone pines
Drifting on wistful winds
While beaming brilliance, lights the skies

Over the ridge valleys rest in dark disguise
As shade is thrown down from heavens above
Breathtaking beauty settles, before my eyes

Eager for this moment to last, time I do despise
As stars align in a language read by gods
While beaming brilliance, lights the skies

Omnipotent powers string these patterns
That rest above great valleys in masterpiece
Breathtaking beauty settles, before my eyes
While beaming brilliance, lights the skies

We laid on the trunk of his car
Shivering backs against dented metal
I always look at the stars
But tonight you did too
You pointed out constellations
And they were all wrong
It was so cold
But it was everything
Next to you
Laughing
Freezing
We were stargazing like we did in my summer dreams
And now when I see a nightsky
This is what i'll remember
Even if it's just another thing you forget to take with you.